Boasting the highest casino gambling revenues 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 the fact up that punters are available some of their most valuable possessions.

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

With revenues nearly six times higher than Las royal vegas rewards Vegas, Macau is a area that is thriving filled up with wealth and happiness, so it’s ironic that pawn shops should prosper therefore well as Charles Dickens termed them ‘receptacles of misery and stress.’

Mainland Chinese Tourists Filling Gambling Enterprises

Credit Suisse Group estimates that gambling profits will climb 16 % this 12 months within the gambling that is chinese, reaching accurate documentation $44 billion, no little thanks to the pawning industry which includes set up shop around these high-class casino and hotel venues, as the growth is placed to be always a result of this ordinary tourists visiting from mainland China, as opposed to the high roller customers who can absorb a million lost here or there.

And considering that the tourist that is ordinaryn’t gain 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 city with some ideas of winning a fortune during the tables.

‘Unofficial money channels, such as pawnshops, are likely to gain more value because the casinos are keen to attract more premium mass gamblers,’ said Gabriel Chan, whom works as an analyst in Hong Kong for the Zurich bank.

Skirting the Law

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

The total amount Chinese nationals can take out of mainland China is currently capped at 20,000 yuan (around $3,200) so tourists head to the pawnshops where they act as if they are purchasing expensive products using their credit cards. When the transaction has been through, they are refunded in cash as if they had changed their minds and chose to offer the item virtually right away. The pawnbroker pockets around five to ten percent commission, and the tourist walks away with their bankroll, having happily skirted Chinese law in return for the dodgy transaction.

Those from mainland China who are categorized as ‘mass-market visitors’ reportedly spend up to 500,000 yuan (around $8,000) on a trip 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 of the real way to the Qing dynasty. But in modern times, the lift of the gaming monopoly after 40 years, back in 2002, enabled the pawnshops to achieve the populous city since the planet’s biggest names in the casino industry opened shop.

In fact, within the last ten years, pawnshops in the town have significantly more than tripled in number because they have enjoyed a steady growth alongside the casino industry. Now, there are around 170 pawnshops that are checked out by mainland tourists that are chinese a gambling trip to Macau for the average of two days every time.

Since there is no official declaration of exactly exactly how much these pawnshops fuel the casino industry, gamblers can also reportedly gain a small extra cash by adding extra costs to their bill at a restaurant and receive a refund for the overpayment in money, thereby skirting the law once more.

And provided that Macau sees an increase in revenue created through the casino gambling industry, it really is most likely that little is going to be done to help prevent tourists that are chinese ducking the rules.