Boasting the casino gambling revenues that are highest in the entire world, Macau is awash with glitz and glamour. Now piggybacking on that success like a tobacco monkey are Macau’s pawnshops, that also use the flashing neon lights to spruce up the actual fact that punters are available some of their most effective possessions.

Cash-strapped gamblers who’ve blown their money in the casinos are drawn to these lights themselves, eagerly removing their Rolexes and other precious possessions just to get a little extra cash together to hit the tables again like they are drawn to the casinos.

With revenues nearly six times more than Las Vegas, Macau is just a thriving area, full of wide range and happiness, so it is ironic that pawn shops should prosper so well as Charles Dickens termed them ‘receptacles of misery and stress.’

Mainland Chinese Tourists Filling Gambling Enterprises

Credit Suisse Group estimates that gambling revenues will climb 16 per cent this year into the gambling that is chinese, reaching an archive $44 billion, no small thanks to the pawning industry which has set up shop around these high-class casino and hotel venues, as the growth is placed to be always a result for the ordinary tourists visiting from mainland China, as opposed to the high roller clientele who can absorb a million lost here or there.

And because the tourist that is ordinaryn’t have access to casino credit lines, (unlike the typical VIP player), pawnshop operators are sure to take advantage of the desperation of the ‘every man’ who heads to the town with a few ideas of winning a fortune at the tables.

‘Unofficial financing channels, such as pawnshops, are more likely to gain more importance while the gambling enterprises are keen to attract more premium mass gamblers,’ said Gabriel Chan, whom works as an analyst in Hong Kong for the Zurich bank.

Skirting regulations

But what actually entices the punters is that these pawn shops enable mainland tourists that are chinese whom fill the casinos of Macau day in day out, to circumvent China’s currency regulations by trading in items rather than currency.

The total amount nationals that are chinese remove of mainland China is currently capped at 20,000 yuan (around $3,200) so tourists head to the pawnshops where they act as though they are purchasing expensive items using their credit cards. When the transaction has gone through, they are refunded in cash as though they had changed their minds and made a decision to offer the item virtually immediately. Inturn for the dodgy deal, the pawnbroker pockets around five to ten percent payment, as well as the tourist walks away with their bankroll, having happily skirted Chinese legislation.

Those from mainland China who are classified as ‘mass-market visitors’ apparently invest up to 500,000 yuan (around $8,000) on a visit to the city, and place minimum bets of around 2,000 yuan per hand, revealed Hong analyst that is kong-based Deutsche Bank, Karen Tang.

Pawnshops are certainly nothing not used to Macau, because they date back 450 years, all the way to the Qing dynasty. But in the past few years, the lift of the gaming monopoly after 40 years, back 2002, enabled the pawnshops to achieve the populous city while the world’s biggest names in the casino industry opened shop.

In fact, over the past ten years, pawnshops in the town have significantly more than tripled in number as they have enjoyed a growth that is steady the casino industry. Now, there are about 170 pawnshops that can be visited by mainland Chinese tourists enjoying a gambling day at Macau for the average of two days each and every time.

While there is no official declaration of properly how much these pawnshops fuel the casino industry, gamblers can additionally reportedly gain a little extra cash by adding extra costs to their bill at a restaurant and receive a refund associated with overpayment in money, therefore skirting the law once again.

And provided that Macau sees an increase in revenue created through the casino gambling industry, it is likely that little will be done to greatly help prevent Chinese tourists from ducking the rules.