Tourism experts are asking the South Korean government to create a gambling regulator to supervise the country’s integrated resorts. They say this would ensure the industry’s sustainable growth.
Panelists at a recent Korea Times Global Business Club event discussed future strategic directions for Korean-style integrated resorts. According to pay per head bookie experts, this suggestion came up during the event. Scholars, business executives, and government officials gathered at the event, moderated by Kyung Hee University professor Seo Seok, to discuss the future of integrated resorts in Korea and the need for a legal framework for gaming.
To allay public fears about gambling and fight problems like gambling addiction, experts stressed the importance of a specialized regulating agency. Drawing comparisons to effective preventative initiatives in Macau, Gangneung-Wonju National University Professor Lee Jae-seok emphasized the significance of education in bringing attention to the dangers of gambling from a young age.
Gambling Regulator to Oversee Integrated Resorts
The VP of the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice, Park Jun-hwi, pointed out that legal gambling sectors like casinos are not meeting public demand. As a result, there was a surge in illicit gambling, particularly online, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Referring to the Gambling Regulatory Authority in Singapore as an example, Seo Yong-seok of the National Gambling Control Commission described the possible roles of a regulatory agency. Recognizing the sound effects of casinos on the economy, he said that regulators should push for more responsible gaming.
Member of the Jeju Casino Regulatory Commission, Lee Kyung, said that good regulation means keeping the local community informed so that the casino sector may grow for everyone’s benefit. The panelists also discussed the competition for building integrated resorts heating up in Asia. According to Korea Culture and Tourism Institute researcher Jeong Kwang-min, Korea should plan its integrated resorts comprehensively, taking a page out of Japan’s massive pre-integrated resort planning playbook.
Mayfield Hotel Seoul CEO Kim Young-moon and other industry heavyweights have long maintained that integrated resorts should operate as tourist icons. According to a gambling insider, this calls for further study and education in resort building in the Korean tradition.
According to Inspire Entertainment Resort’s general counsel, Julie Heo, expanding the resort’s entertainment offerings outside gaming is essential for attracting a wider demographic. Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority official Nicholas Kim has pushed for looser rules on casinos that cater primarily to foreigners to encourage development in the integrated resort industry.
Paradise Suffers Lower Casino Revenue in September
In September, Paradise Co., the top Korean operator of casinos for foreigners, witnessed a decline in casino income to $46.5 million. According to bookie news reports, this decreased 14.4% from August and 16.5% year-on-year. A 14.8% sequential fall to $43.2 million and an 8.9% loss to $3.25 million in the company’s gaming table division were the first drops in gaming revenue, which followed a general downturn.
Another 15.6% decline from August and 0.7% from the same time in 2023 was the table loss of $425 million. Revenues from casinos in the first nine months of 2024 amounted to $464 million, an increase of 8.8% year-on-year, supported by a 15.5% improvement in the decline to $3.93 billion.
In addition to its four Korean casinos—Paradise City in Incheon (a joint venture with Japan’s Sega Sammy) and casinos in Busan and Jeju—the company recently announced plans to build a five-star hotel in Seoul and renovate its VIP gaming areas to attract more international customers.
