Hainan may soon begin offering casino-like’Amusement bars’

In China, the tropical island of Hainan could be transformed to a gamblers paradise due to a recent court judgment possibly opening up the way for its local hotels to begin running ‘amusement bars. ’

According to a Monday report from the Bloomberg news assistance, ‘amusement bars’ are much like casinos but only permit players to receive their winnings in the shape of credits that must be spent in local restaurants, hotels and shops. The Sanya Bay Mangrove Resort Hotel purportedly premiered the first these credit-only centre on the island about five years ago but had been forced to close soon after amid claims that it violated China’s strict anti-gambling legislation.

But a Hainan court whined in December by judgment that ‘amusement bars’ don’t violate the legislation, which set off a flurry of action among local hotels on the island of some 8.2 million people. Bloomberg detailed that at least five native places have attracted up blueprints for their own credit-only gaming operations while others have contacted baccarat table suppliers to discuss buys.

The judgment has also been followed by numerous groups affiliated with the central authorities partnering to start a trial of the points-based Hainan International Tourism Island Sports and Gaming Entertainment Project smartphone program. This innovation enables punters to place wagers on football and basketball competitions using their WePay and AliPay accounts but any winning credits can only be spent at select places situated mostly on Hainan.

Ben Lee, a working partner for Macau-based consultancy company IGamiX, told Bloomberg that his company has been working with Hainan programmers for about a decade and that ‘amusement bars’ are certain to encourage ‘mainlanders who have never been overseas to try gaming. ’

“From our discussions with folks on the floor, they are positively excited about the changes that appear to be coming through soon,” Lee reportedly told the news service. “We might see more intriguing developments in the next five to ten years.

Bloomberg said that Macau is the sole Chinese land where casinos are permitted but local entrepreneurs are gambling that the country ’s central authorities will now allow ‘amusement bars’ as a way to grow the market of Hainan, which is frequently referred to as ‘China’s Hawaii’ using its market heavily reliant on agriculture and fishing.

“The authorities will confront challenges to decide its own attitude towards a gambling-themed version,” read a statement from Margaret Huang, a Hong Kong-based analyst with the news agency ’s Bloomberg Intelligence research arm. “The balance between regulation and economic growth is tough.

Located 19 miles off China’s southern coast and about 1,700 kilometers from Beijing, Hainan was designated as a ‘special economic zone’ in 1988 and Bloomberg reported that the central authorities has since been attempting to transform the island into a major tourist destination. It detailed that ‘amusement bars’ would probably appeal to casual players that did not want to travel overseas with their high-rolling counterparts continuing to venture into casinos farther afield including people in Macau, Singapore and the Philippines.

“It’s now a consensus among businesses and businessmen in Hainan, the expectation is for looser policies along with a more open business environment to build Hainan to an global tourism and intake destination,” Liu Feng, Director for its Hainan Normal University Free Trade Port Research Center, told Bloomberg.