Boasting the highest casino gambling revenues in the planet, 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 very fact that punters are available some of their best possessions.

Cash-strapped gamblers who’ve blown their cash 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 greater than Las Vegas, Macau is a area that is thriving filled with wide range and happiness, so it’s ironic that pawn shops should prosper therefore well as Charles Dickens termed them ‘receptacles of misery and distress.’

Mainland Chinese Tourists Filling Casinos

Credit Suisse Group estimates that gambling profits will climb 16 percent this 12 months within the Chinese gambling mecca, reaching an archive $44 billion, no tiny because of the pawning industry which includes set up store around these high-class casino and hotel venues, as the growth is placed to become 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 lines of credit, (unlike the typical VIP player), pawnshop operators are sure to benefit from the desperation of the ‘every man’ who heads to the town with some ideas of winning a fortune during the tables.

‘Unofficial funding channels, such as pawnshops, are prone to gain more value since the gambling enterprises are keen to attract more premium mass gamblers,’ said Gabriel Chan, who works as an analyst in Hong Kong for the Zurich bank.

Skirting the Law

But exactly what really entices the punters is that these pawn shops enable mainland Chinese tourists, who fill the casinos of Macau day in day away, to bypass China’s currency regulations by trading in goods rather than money.

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 if they are purchasing expensive items using their credit cards. After the deal has experienced, they are refunded in cash as if they had changed their minds and made a decision to sell the item virtually right away. Inturn for the dodgy deal, the pawnbroker pockets around five to ten percent commission, as well as the tourist walks away with their bankroll, having happily skirted Chinese legislation.

Those from mainland China who are categorized as ‘mass-market visitors’ reportedly spend up to 500,000 yuan (around $8,000) on a visit to the town, and place minimum wagers of around 2,000 yuan per hand, revealed more more chilli slot machine Hong analyst that is kong-based Deutsche Bank, Karen Tang.

Pawnshops are certainly nothing a new comer to Macau, as they date back 450 years, all of the way to the Qing dynasty. However in recent years, the lift of the gaming monopoly after 40 years, back 2002, enabled the pawnshops to achieve the town due to the fact world’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 while they have enjoyed a growth that is steady the casino industry. Now, there are around 170 pawnshops that could be visited by mainland tourists that are chinese a gambling visit to Macau for the average of two days each time.

While there is no official declaration of exactly just how much these pawnshops fuel the casino industry, gamblers can also reportedly gain a little additional cash by including additional costs to their bill at a restaurant and receive a refund of this overpayment in cash, therefore skirting what the law states once again.

And so long as Macau sees an increase in revenue generated through the casino gambling industry, it’s most likely that little will likely be done to aid prevent Chinese tourists from ducking the guidelines.