UnionPay cards are used by more than 50 percent of Chinese gamblers traveling to Macau.

However, MMA issued a calming statement Friday, noting that the limit per transaction does not affect the daily ATM withdrawal limit of ¥ 10,000 (roughly $1,449) or the annual withdrawal limit of ¥ 10,000. "The move is not expected to affect daily ATM cash withdrawals through ATMs by Macau residents and will not affect normal overseas cash withdrawals by mainland bank cardholders," it added, according to a report on GGRAsia.   에볼루션 바카라사이트

Casino stocks were negatively affected by the announcement from Hong Kong, the U.S., and Australia, and shares of Galaxy Entertainment Group, Sands China, and Win Macau fell more than 10% in the Hong Kong market on Dec. 9. Chinese authorities have been monitoring the Union Pay deal for years as it has been used as a means to illegally extract money from China.

China has been seeking ways to reduce pressure on the yuan and take stronger capital controls. DS Kim, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co in Hong Kong, said the new restrictions could be seen as a message from China to stop the possibility of capital outflow abuse as they look to curb a decline in China's foreign reserves.

The Macau casino industry, which suffered a decline in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for 27 consecutive months due to the Chinese government's anti-corruption crackdown, has only recently recovered after reporting a four-month consecutive increase in GGR, which began in August 2016. Game analysts predict Macau's $30 billion casino industry will continue its recovery process after posting its highest year-on-year growth in November 2016.

Vitaly Umanskyan, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., believes the new restrictions on UnionPay trading will not affect the majority of mass market gamblers, but the smaller sector will face challenges.

In a statement, Umansky said, "Almost 50% of Chinese customers in Macau use UnionPay ATM withdrawals as a cash source for gaming. We know that there are people who specialize in using hundreds of ATM cards on any given day to withdraw cash and provide liquidity to junket agents and some premium mass players. You can feel the impact a little bit more here."