The Monetary Authority of Macau is making a move to cut the amount of cash China UnionPay cardholders can withdraw from ATM machines in half within the world’s largest gambling market, South China Morning Post reported.
The daily withdrawal limit will be lowered from 10,000 patacas currently to 5,000 patacas ($626.49) and is expected to go into effect on Saturday (Dec. 10).
However, Macau makes up a significant chunk of the annual revenue for U.S. casino operators, and since the news broke, stock prices for many of those operators have taken a hit.
According to Reuters, shares of Las Vegas Sands declined 14 percent, while Wynn Resorts fell 12 percent. MGM Resorts International also saw a 7 percent drop in its stock prices.
The change in the daily cash withdrawal limit in Macau comes on the heels of China increasing measures to lower capital outflows. The yuan currency hit more than eight-year lows at the end of November, and the country’s foreign exchange reserves also fell to a six-year low at $3.05 trillion.
“We know that there are individuals who specialize in utilizing hundreds of ATM cards on any given day to withdraw cash and provide liquidity to junket agents and some premium mass players. This is where a slightly greater impact could be felt,” Vitaly Umansky, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., wrote in a note, Bloomberg reported.
“Nearly 50 percent of Chinese customers in Macau use UnionPay ATM withdrawals as one source of cash for gaming,” Umansky added.
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