{"id":17421,"date":"2021-04-30T16:17:22","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T16:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=17421"},"modified":"2026-04-23T19:54:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T22:54:50","slug":"macau-virtual-currency-may-benefit-gaming-market-analysts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/macau-virtual-currency-may-benefit-gaming-market-analysts-say","title":{"rendered":"Macau: Virtual currency may benefit gaming market, analysts say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Analysts believe the issuance of virtual currency could have a long-term positive for the local gaming market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Macau.- The brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein has said that the\u00a0<strong>possibility of using a virtual currency\u00a0<\/strong>could benefit Macau&#8217;s\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/macau-may-test-issuance-of-virtual-currency\">gaming market<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\u00a0<strong>gaming market currently operates using Hong Kong dollars<\/strong>, so mainland Chinese visitors have to convert their renminbis if they want to gamble unless they already have access to Hong Kong dollars.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Macau Gaming Research Association has previously noted the implementation of\u00a0<strong>a virtual currency could mark a step-change for the local gaming market\u00a0<\/strong>as customers could buy chips instantly using RMB without the need to convert to HKD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein stated: &#8220;The cleaning up of\u00a0<strong>Macau\u2019s money flows<\/strong>, easier access to RMB transactions in the city, and\u00a0<strong>disintermediation of junkets<\/strong>\u00a0would be a positive driver for continued growth in stable mass and premium mass in Macau.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The introduction of a virtual currency could have a serious impact on\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/macau-junket-operators-at-risk-from-new-laws-and-covid-19-impact\">junket operators<\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>as it may render them <strong>unnecessary for the VIP sector<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The introduction of a digital currency could serve as another move against<strong>\u00a0money laundering and tax evasion\u00a0<\/strong>as Chinese authorities build their blacklist of <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/china-expands-gambling-blacklist\">overseas gambling destinations<\/a> to which cross-border transfers are controlled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bernstein&#8217;s report added: \u201cWhile\u00a0<strong>some VIPs will surely go away for fear of being identified as big players<\/strong>, for mass and premium customers, the convenience of digital forex transaction and smooth purchase experience may encourage more visitations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Analysts believe the issuance of virtual currency could have a long-term positive for the local gaming market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The potential introduction of a virtual currency in Macau is projected to significantly benefit the local gaming market by streamlining RMB transactions, thereby enhancing convenience for mainland Chinese visitors and potentially boosting mass and premium mass segments. This move is also anticipated to disintermediate junket operators and strengthen anti-money laundering and anti-tax evasion efforts by Chinese authorities.","focusai_entities":"Sanford C. Bernstein, Macau Gaming Research Association","focusai_location":"Macau, Hong Kong, China","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (0.95), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.95), payments_fraud_aml (0.95), investor_analyst (0.95), supplier_vendor (0.75), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact on VIP Segment?","query":"What specific strategies are Macau's integrated resorts developing to mitigate the potential GGR decline from the VIP segment following the disintermediation of junkets by a virtual currency?"},{"label":"Regulatory Implementation Timeline?","query":"What is the projected timeline for the regulatory framework and technical infrastructure required for the full implementation and widespread adoption of a virtual currency within Macau's gaming ecosystem?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16338,158],"tags":[23906],"class_list":["post-17421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news","category-east-asia-news","category-slider-home","tag-macau-casinos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17421"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17444,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17421\/revisions\/17444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}