Singapore's Gamblers Get a New Bank

Yeah Lee Ching recalls when a woman walked into her pawnshop in Singapore and pledged a $10,000 diamond-studded gold Rolex watch to bankroll casino spending. She never came back for her jewelry. Such customers are becoming more common as pawnbrokers proliferate across Singapore to serve gamblers seeking short-term loans and to satisfy demand for quick cash from people struggling to make ends meet in the world’s most expensive place to live. The number of pawnshops in the city-state jumped to 214 this year from 114 in 2008, according to DMG & Partners Securities. Loans disbursed by the industry jumped to S$5.5 billion ($4.4 billion) in 2013 from S$1.6 billion in 2007.

“Pawnshops are the most frequent automated teller machines for regular gamblers,” says Ivan Ho, president of the Singapore Pawnbrokers’ Association. “They need capital, and pawnshops offer them loans that are reasonably priced.”