South Korea seems to be well on the road of establishing itself as a major Asian gambling jurisdiction after it saw gaming and lottery sales increase 7.7% year-on-year in 2016. The total amount of KRW20.3 trillion (over $17.6 billion) was generated last year, local media reported.
The figure posted included proceeds from lottery, betting, and casino gambling. However, here it is important to note that casino sales did not include proceeds generated at foreigners-only casinos. As reported by local media, gambling sales including ones from foreigners-only casinos amounted to KRW20.5 trillion in 2015.
There are 17 land-based casinos across South Korea and only one of them admits Korean nationals at its premises. Said casino – Kangwon Land – generated nearly KRW455 billion in sales in 2016, according to a February report released by parent company Kangwon Land Inc. The casino operator generated a total of KRW1.7 trillion last year, reflecting a 3.8% increase from a year earlier.
Lottery sales amounted to KRW3.9 trillion in 2016, up 9.3% year-on-year. Sales from horse racing operations increased 0.2% to reach KRW7.7 trillion in 2016. Cycling betting proceeds totaled KRW1.9 trillion last year, reflecting a rise of 1.7% from a year earlier.
Experts have attributed the local gambling market’s growth to the overall “economic depression” in the country. More people turned to gambling at a time of an economic crisis, scholars claimed.
South Korea is in the middle of a significant casino expansion. The country has become yet another one in the Asia-Pacific region to embrace a growing trend in the casino industry. Two integrated casino resorts – Paradise City in Incheon and Jeju Shinhwa World on Jeju Island – are slated to open doors in South Korea by the end of the year, with both of them to be offering a wide variety of non-gambling services in addition to expansive casino floors.
The country’s government has granted a handful of permissions for the construction of several such complexes at key locations, which means that more of them are to open doors in the years to come. The massive casino expansion planned for South Korea has been seen as a potential boost to the country’s tourism rates and overall economic performance.
