Asia Pioneer and Cartamundi Open Bee Macau, Macau’s First Casino-Grade Card Factory

Asia Pioneer Entertainment Holdings and Cartamundi Group have officially opened Bee Macau, the city’s first casino-grade playing card factory, after test runs and initial exports to operators in Asia. Full-scale production began in May 2026 and the project was built on a HKD 500m budget; the facility will supply Macau’s six major gaming operators and ship decks worldwide.

Bee Macau begins full production in Macau in May 2026

Bee Macau moved from pilot to commercial output in May 2026 following successful test production and deliveries to operators across Asia. The factory produces the Bee casino-grade playing cards — a brand first printed in 1892 and acquired by Cartamundi in 2019 — entirely in Macau. The partners position the site as a move from importing gaming consumables to local high-tech manufacturing.

What the facility contains and who it will serve

The factory was equipped with advanced automation systems, artificial intelligence technologies and robotics, and is staffed by a team of local professionals. The partners say the facility is sized and specified to serve Macau’s six major gaming operators as well as casino operators globally. Early shipments during trial runs were exported to Asian markets.

The project budget was HKD 500m. That capital covered plant fit-out, machinery and systems integration needed for casino-grade production and verification processes.

Strategic partnership and corporate roles

Asia Pioneer Entertainment Holdings (APE) is the Macau-based partner that will operate Bee Macau. Cartamundi Group, a Belgium-headquartered manufacturer known for playing cards around the world, supplied technology, training and the Bee brand under a strategic cooperation agreement. The partners signed the cooperation agreement on 27 March 2026 at the Macau International Environmental Cooperation Forum & Exhibition (MIECF), an event witnessed by senior officials from the Macau Special Administrative Region Government and the Central People’s Government Liaison Office.

"With Bee Macau, the market finally gains a local choice in playing card manufacturing, opening the door to greater diversity," said Herman Ng, Executive Director and CEO of Asia Pioneer Entertainment Holdings. "As a Macau-based company, we are proud that Cartamundi has entrusted us with world-class technology and training, bringing global expertise to Macau."

"Cartamundi is Latin for ‘cards for the world’. That idea has guided us from the beginning," said Stefaan Merckx, CEO of Cartamundi Group. "By bringing advanced manufacturing capabilities closer to customers in Macau and across Asia-Pacific, we can serve them with the speed, quality, security and reliability they expect from us."

Market and policy context: diversification and green innovation

The partners and local stakeholders framed the factory as part of Macau’s economic diversification agenda and a push toward green innovation. The opening follows the cooperation agreement signed at MIECF and is presented as aligning with the city’s policy objectives to attract foreign investment and international technology.

Alan Ho, President of The Macau Portuguese and Spanish‑Speaking Countries Entrepreneurs Association, said the factory would act as a bridge through Macau to Portuguese‑ and Spanish‑speaking markets, expanding distribution opportunities for Bee products.

Brand and heritage: Bee cards and Cartamundi

Bee® is described by the partners as a trusted playing card used by gaming operators worldwide; the first Bee deck was printed in 1892. Cartamundi acquired the Bee brand in 2019 and brings over 200 years of card‑making expertise to the partnership. The new factory produces Bee decks with the claim of maintaining the brand’s established quality standards while localising supply chains.

Operational and commercial implications for operators and suppliers

Operators in Macau that previously imported decks now have a local supplier for casino-grade cards, which could shorten lead times and reduce logistics complexity. For Cartamundi, the plant situates production closer to Asia-Pacific customers and provides an on-the-ground facility capable of serving regional demand with standardised quality controls.

Manufacturing at scale in Macau may also influence procurement decisions among the city’s concession holders and international operators who contract for branded casino supplies.

What comes next

The partners plan to distribute decks worldwide from the Macau facility while building out the local manufacturing workforce and systems. The factory’s commissioning follows the March 2026 cooperation agreement and the May 2026 start of full production; stakeholders characterised the move as the beginning of a "Made in Macau" chapter for casino-grade playing cards.

For readers tracking sector supply chains, the Bee Macau opening is both a local industrial development and a strategic positioning by Cartamundi and APE to control production, quality and distribution across Asia-Pacific.

(Reporting by Marcus Webb, Industry Deals Correspondent.)