Revenue at South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos slumped by 5.37% in 2017 to less than KRW1.21 trillion (US$1.09 billion). In announcing the annual turnover for last year, the National Gambling Control Commission said the country’s 16 foreigner-only casinos had almost 2.22 million visitors in 2017, a decrease of 6.22 percent between 2016. South Korea North Korea. Phearun of the economy ministry said the government expects the new rate will double its tax revenue from casinos, which was about $100 million last year. Fuelling the revenue growth of foreigners-only casinos are Japanese tourists, according to the Korea Casino Association. Data showed that the number of visitors to the foreigners’ casinos jumped 1.6% to 366,000 in the first two months of 2018.

1. South Korea Casino Revenue Service
2. South Korea Casino Revenue Commission

Las Vegas Sands Corp.has made a $4.5 billion proposal that would see a casino and a resort constructed in Busan, the second largest city in South Korea. However, the casino will be built only if the South Korean government allows Korean nationals to enter and play inside.

South Korea has 17 licensed casinos that bring tourists into the country and boosts the economy, but only one of those is open to locals. Kangwon Land Casino, placed in a remote mining area of Gangwon province, permits entry to Korean citizens, but taking pictures at the casino or admission after consuming alcohol is strictly forbidden.

As proof that gambling is very popular among South Korean citizens, Kangwon Casino generates more gambling revenue than all foreign targeted casinos collectively. Las Vegas Sands sees a great business opportunity in South Korea where most of the gambling revenue is generated by Chinese VIP players. The government has also implemented tight regulations to prevent gambling addiction.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding those regulations because it seems that Kangwon Land Casino doesn’t pay attention to addicts who visit the casino. According to the koreaherald.com, the casino is preventing civic groups who are willing to help those with gambling addictions at the Kangwon Land, and the casino has also increased the maximum bet to 15,000,000 Won from the previous 6,000,000 Won.

Even though foreigners are allowed to gamble at Korean casinos and Chinese VIP players are regular guests, the Sands believes that a healthier and bigger profit can be reached if Korean nationals are allowed to gamble. The company became interested in the South Korea casino market after the chief executive of Marina Bay Sands, George Tanasijevich, had a sit-down with Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Suh Byung-soo.

South Korea Casino Revenue Service

It seems that Tanasijevich was very convincing because Byung-soo called on the central government and said that the casino laws should be revised. A Sands casino in Busan would certainly promote tourism, increase tax revenues. and generate more jobs, which is especially important now that the South Korean government is faced with declining tax revenues.

South Korea has already approved casinos by Caesars, Lippo Ltd., and Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings, but none of them will allow locals to gamble. If the Las Vegas Sands gets the approval to build a casino where locals can play, there is a chance that existing proposals will get disrupted.

Until laws are changed, however, Koreans are not allowed to gamble at the local casinos of their choosing.

Photo: www.jewishbusinessnews.com

Casino operators run 4 foreigners-only properties in the country

South Korean casino operator Paradise Co Ltd, which runs gaming venues open only to foreigners, has reported that casino revenue grew to more than KRW73.63 billion (US$61.0 million) last month, 6.6 percent more than one month earlier and 42.7 percent more than at the same stage last year, filing in at the Korea Stock Exchange that its revenue from gaming tables in September had been almost KRW69.66 billion, 6.0 percent more than the month before and 45.1 percent more than a year earlier.

In the report, Paradise files in that Table drop at the firm’s gaming tables was KRW529.01 billion in September, 15.1 percent less than the month before but 8.1 percent more than a year earlier; whiles revenue from gaming machines in September had been around KRW3.97 billion, 18.6 percent more than the month before and 10.7 percent more than a year earlier.

Paradise said its casino revenue grew to nearly KRW567.88 billion in the first nine months of 2019, 23.5 percent more than at the same stage last year. Revenue from gaming tables for the period stood at KRW534.33 billion, up 24.9 percent, while slot machine revenue increased 4.9 percent to KRW33.55 billion.

South Korea Casino Revenue Commission

Paradise Co’s figures are based on gaming at four properties: Walkerhill in Seoul; the Jeju Grand, on Jeju island; Busan Casino in the southern port city of Busan; and Paradise City, at Incheon, close to the country’s main international airport serving the capital, Seoul. The latter gaming venue has been promoted in partnership with a unit of Japanese entertainment conglomerate Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.