Las Vegas Sands is to take a closer look at junket operators in its Macau casinos in a bid to clamp down on money laundering.

LVS will bolster safeguards against money laundering, including requiring junket operators to provide more details on their businesses. This crackdown is likely to lead to a loss in the number of junket operators that work with LVS.

Putting greater restrictions on junket operators, which bring in two-thirds of Macau’s VIP business, comes as LVS aims to meet the demands from US gaming regulators and the US Department of Justice to crack down on potential money laundering.

Last month, the US Department of State asked Macau to lower the threshold for reporting gaming-related financial transactions from $62,500 to $3,000. At the same time, the state department asked for stricter oversight of junkets, requiring due diligence for non-regulated gaming collaborators and implementing cross-border currency reporting.

Nevada gaming regulators also recently said they would step up oversight of Las Vegas casino operators in Macau.

A US-China Economic Security Review Commission report last autumn said that while it found no money laundering among American casino operators in Macau, money laundering was a significant risk due to the lack of controls on junkets.

Over the last two years, LVS has beefed up its staff to crack down on illegal money transactions, employing former FBI agents, regulators and lawyers that have experience in anti-money laundering law.

LVS no longer allows the international transfer of funds by customers and limits the use of cheques or money orders from business accounts. This also follows reaching a settlement with the US Department of Justice last year in which LVS agreed to forfeit $47m from a high roller who was later linked to international drug trafficking.

How all of this will affect VIP business in Macau is uncertain, as operators including LVS have said they are working on building direct relationships with high rollers, reducing the reliance on junkets.