Ride-hailing app firm Uber reportedly will pull out of Macau next month, less than 10 months after its launch, after drivers faced steep fines in Asia’s gambling mecca.

A letter from Uber’s head of Asia to a Macau legislator said it planned to exit the city on 9 September, noting its drivers have been fined MOP10 million ($1.22 million) in the short time in which it has operated in Macau, Reuters reported.

Uber has about 2,000 full-time and part-time drivers in the territory, which has a population of just 600,000. The drivers have been notified of the pullout, local media said.

The announcement comes just days after Taiwan’s government said Uber owes sales taxes estimated at TWD100 million ($3.2 million) and it may force the taxi-hailing service to stop doing business in the country since it has misrepresented the nature of its operations.

And just a month ago Uber gave into shareholder pressure and merged its loss-making Chinese business with local rival Didi Chuxing, as it separately invested $500 million in a global mapping project.

The merger, which requires regulatory approval, will pull together Didi’s car hailing business, valued at $28 billion, and Uber China, worth an estimated $7 billion.