Gambling | US shares fall after ATM facial recognition announcement

Macau casino operators tumbled in New York after the announcement that the local government will require facial recognition and identification card checks at ATMs before Chinese UnionPay cardholders can withdraw cash.

The Government Information Bureau issued a statement this week about the new technology to be installed technology in automated teller machines across the city. “The government will install – in phases – “know your customer” (KYC) technology in ATMs in Macau. When using ATMs in Macau with such KYC features, holders of UnionPay cards issued by mainland banks will be required to scan their mainland identity card and undergo a facial recognition check.”

ATM customers in Macau withdraw as much as 10 billion Hong Kong dollars a month (USD1.28 billion), according to the South China Morning Post.

The move could crimp spending in the short run, Instinet LLC analyst Harry Curtis said in a research note. “History tells us that, while there could be a near-term blip in middle-market mass gaming revenues, Chinese gamblers are very resourceful in trying to move money out of the mainland,” he wrote.

The Chinese government began a crackdown on corruption in 2012 that caused betting in Macau, the only part of China where casino gambling is legal, to fall by a third. The move by the bank threw cold water on a rally in Macau casino stocks triggered by a rebound in betting that began in August.

Sands U.S. shares declined 2.8 percent to $57.13 as of 2:23 p.m on Monday. They were up 10 percent this year as of May 5. Wynn fell 1.5 percent to $120.27 and Melco Resorts & Entertainment dropped 4.5 percent to $21.34. Melco also announced an agreement to buy the remaining stock in the company held by Crown Resorts using shares issued in an offering.