The seizure of UnionPay point of sale terminals (POS) from pawn shops in Macau earlier this month triggered a slide in operator shares on fears of tighter capital controls, though the continued use of illegal devices means there has been little impact on revenue.
Two state-owned mainland banks, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Bank of China (BOC), confiscated UnionPay terminals from locations that have seen unusually large volumes of business, said investment bank UBS.
“That included terminals in shops located inside casino properties, but also at some shops straddling casinos on the peninsula,” said Ben Lee,managing partner at iGamiX Management and Consulting.
Asia Gaming Brief asked for comment from the Macau General Chamber of Pawnbrokers, but received no reply.
Hoffman Ma, executive director of the the Success Universe Group said his Ponte 16 property had not been affected by the withdrawal and “the impact was minimal” industry-wide.
In...
This Dossier results from the “Life After POGOs” editorial project by Asia Gaming Brief which culminated with a pop-up digital forum on 9th December to discuss potentials ramifications in the industry.
Covid-19 forced the rapid and unexpected closure of venues across Australia, changing the operating environment with unprecedented speed and leaving managers scrambling to adapt...
Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced the opening of the 1,600-room Grand Hyatt Jeju in South Korea, the largest Hyatt hotel in Asia Pacific. This hotel is part of the Jeju Dream Tower which opened on Friday.
Galaxy Entertainment Group told Macau News Agency that recent wage dispute involving workers employed at its Cotai expansion projects, originated from fee disputes between the workers and mainland employment agencies.
MGM Resorts has thrown its cards into the online gaming ring, with an attempt to buy U.K.-listed Entertain for GBP11.3 billion ($15.4 billion), which may reshape the group and reduce its focus on Asia in the longer term.
Over the years, many of the answers have been remarkably prescient in their forecasts for the near-term direction of Asia’s gaming industry. However, we can safely say that no one came anywhere close to guessing
what 2020 may have had in store.
While nowhere in the world has escaped the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis, Macau has been hit harder than most, with forecasts for gross domestic product to shrink more than 50 percent this year.
Before the Covid-19 crisis, tourism in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region was at a record high, on track to welcome 80 million visitors in 2019, generating some $90 billion in revenue.
