China Cracking Down on Repeat Travelers Gambling in Macau Amid Zero-COVID

May 19, 2022 Macau Earnings & Filings Industry Updates

Mainland China is scrutinizing leisure travelers who are suspected of routinely visiting Macau amid the People’s Republic’s persistence of its “zero-COVID” policy.

“Zero-COVID” has faced much criticism from international health officials, including the World Health Organization (WHO). The policy requires localized lockdowns after clusters of new coronavirus cases are detected. It also severely limits nonessential travel.

China’s National Immigration Administration disclosed earlier this month that it has detected approximately 90,000 mainland citizens who have repeatedly violated the Chinese Communist Party’s order to refrain from leisure cross-border travel.

The majority of those repeat offenders have been documented going to Macau with the specific intent to gamble. That’s according to the agency tasked with monitoring the flow of people in and out of China and its two Special Administrative Regions,

In response, China’s Ministry of Public Security is implementing new procedures. Those will limit mainlanders who have visited Macau more than three times since 2020 from further patronizing the casino enclave until “zero-COVID” is lifted.

Consequences Steep
Global financial services firm Credit Suisse says China seeking to restrict Macau’s frequent gamblers will have a considerable impact on business. In a recent note, Credit Suisse analysts say the crackdown could negatively hurt gross gaming revenue (GGR) by as much as 20%.