They threw that in there implying that it was difficult to buy gift cards with cash.
In reality, those limits are pretty much the same as any other cash transaction. You can buy a few hundred or low thousands of dollars of gift cards with little/no oversight. Unless you only engage in peer-to-peer cash transactions, any pattern of moving more than a few thousand dollars in a regular < 30 day period is an activity that is eventually reported under money laundering laws.
In reality, those limits are pretty much the same as any other cash transaction. You can buy a few hundred or low thousands of dollars of gift cards with little/no oversight. Unless you only engage in peer-to-peer cash transactions, any pattern of moving more than a few thousand dollars in a regular < 30 day period is an activity that is eventually reported under money laundering laws.