UnionPay Cards See a Crackdown in Macau

Macau cracks down on the use of Chinese state-back bankcards in a bid to stop large amounts of money being taken out of China illegally.

While Chinese gambling laws prohibit gambling in Mainland China, Macau has become the world’s largest gambling market, and a go-to destination for Chinese citizens looking to play at its casinos.

China has strict currency-export controls, but the use of UnionPay cards in Macau are illegal and as a result, have been limited to strict guidelines for their use in Macau.

China cracks down on illegal currency export in Macau

The new restrictions hit gambling news, since it will affect the spending of Chinese nationals in Macau, who are only allowed to take $3,200 out of China in cash per day.

Chinese gamblers overcome this with the UnionPay cards by pretending to buy expensive items from casino stores, but instead of buying goods, they do it in exchange for cash.

The restrictions would reduce the flow of Chinese money into Macau and would impact the local economic growth as a result, since Macau depends on its Mainland Chinese gamblers.

The figure for the fraudulent transactions in Macau came to approximately $45 billion, about half of Macau’s total gambling revenue, last year.

The restriction on the transactions in Macau, coupled with the Chinese president’s anti corruption campaign, it looks like Macau could be moving towards becoming a family friendly destination.

Will the new regulations change the landscape of Macau or will the casino metropolis overcome the odds set by the Chinese government?