Chinese authorities have been testing the use of the world’s first state-backed cryptocurrency, issued and managed by the country’s central bank, in five trial regions, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an, Chengdu, and future Winter Olympics locations.
No timeline for full public use has been announced yet by The People’s Bank of China, but the report cites sources that point for plans to only use the digital currency locally in casino floors.
Introducing the use of digital currency in the SAR would remove the use of Hong Kong dollars as the currency for casino betting and have great consequences in the local gaming industry, especially to junket operators, with the increase in control of capital outflows by Beijing likely to scare away VIP gamblers used to more discretion over their gambling habits.
It would also remove the need to use junket operator as intermediaries for Chinese gamblers and restrict people’s betting amount to the potential conversion cap imposed on the e-yuan to foreign currencies.
Cumulative gross gaming results between January and November have dropped by 80.5% year-on-year, with analysts believing that the introduction of such a policy would likely reduce a considerable percentage of gaming results in the future.
Source: Macau Business
