The city government of Macau reportedly has plans to restrict the use of UnionPay Co's debit cards at casinos further in its efforts to curb the money flows to the largest gambling hub in the world. Bloomberg said this means that the measure would make it harder for bettors to violate money laundering laws by purchasing expensive items that they use to exchange for cash.
According to the head of SJM Holdings Ltd, which is the biggest gambling company of the city, the Macau Monetary Authority has issued an order to jewelry stores and pawnshops operating on casino floors to discontinue UnionPay card options by July 1. Bloomberg was unable to confirm nor deny the report by SJM. The head of SJM clarified further that the change will not be affecting SJM as it does not have any pawnshops on their casinos. But they do have watch and jewelry stores, he said.
SJM Chief Executive Officer Ambrose So stated in an e-mail responding to Bloomberg News questions, "It has come to our knowledge that individual shops in the casinos have received such notification from the Macau Monetary Authority."
The news agency said that the government's plan could be a major setback to Macau's casino revenue growth, which posted a 20% growth in the first quarter alone to $12.8 billion. The growth is said to be eight times more than the revenue of the Las Vegas Strip. China has been cracking down the use of UnionPay hand-held card swipers within casino resorts to address concerns of illegal funds being funneled out of the mainland into the casino capital.
Macau-based analyst Grant Govertsen at Union Gaming Group wrote in a note published yesterday that the planned restrictions on UnionPay would make obtaining cash less convenient for mass-market gamblers, who were said to have made up most of the 29.3 million annual visitors to Macau last year. Operators and analysts have said that tourists coming from mainland China bypassing controls on currency had helped fuel the boom in Macau for the last decade as gambling in China is considered illegal.
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