By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Wynn Resorts stock (NASDAQ:WYNN) fell 9% Tuesday on fears the local authorities will tighten supervision of casinos operating on the peninsula.
Macau, known as Asia’s Las Vegas, lies off Hong Kong and is part of China. Wynn owns two properties in Macau, Wynn Palace and Wynn Macau (OTC:WYNMF).
According to a Bloomberg report, the local authorities want government representatives to supervise casino operators and higher local ownership in gaming companies operating in the region.
China has been clamping down on high-stakes betting in Macau which takes place in convertible Hong Kong dollars. It is believed the gambling trades enable illicit outflow of currency and money-laundering efforts.
The proposal by the local authorities also includes reviewing the number of gaming licenses and their terms. Current licenses expire in June next year.
Wynn’s second-quarter operating revenue from Wynn Palace was $270.4 million and $184 million from Wynn Macau, totaling to about 46% of its overall operating revenue.
The proposed measures, if implemented, will be in line in with recent attempts by the Chinese government to develop a model state and cleanse the society of aspects it considers harmful to society. This has so far included capping the number of hours children can spend on online games to tightening the ways the country’ tech companies can use consumer data.