Money flows to Macau are expected to be affected by a crackdown on money changers and their networks that began in June, Seaport Research Partners analyst Vitaly Umansky has warned.
In a Monday note on June’s gross gaming revenue, Umansky said the crackdown on such activity could lead to the postponement of trips to Macau.
“Many of these networks utilize crypto currency for money transfer (something that has gained wider attention by authorities in China) along with loan sharking activities,” the analyst wrote.
“Macau has experienced a rise of criminal activity related to illegal money exchange over the past year. This problem has been raised to a national level in conjunction with China authorities looking at continued use of crypto currency to move money out of China (not necessarily tied to Macau).”
Umansky believes that headwinds from the crackdown could last “over the next month or two”.
However, he added, “However, we expect the crackdown to soften and liquidity in Macau to be not significantly impacted in the medium term.”
July gross gaming revenue
According to his analysis, June casino revenue came in slightly below expectations – due to a slowdown in the middle and latter part of the month.
Looking ahead, however, the analyst has painted a more positive picture for the summer, with gross gaming revenue expected to bounce back to MOP19.22 billion, an increase of 9 per cent on June.
“July is typically a solid month with base mass visitors increasing later in the month and more so in August,” he said
“With the softness in base mass, the continuation of the Euro Cup and the crackdown on money movement activity, we are more conservative on July than normal.”
