The Korea Casino Association – an industry lobby group representing the country’s foreigner-only casino operators – has warned that a proposed 50% increase in the maximum levy payable by casinos to the nation’s Tourism Promotion and Development Fund will “hasten the bankruptcy of casino companies” that were still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It also questioned why the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism continues to charge on revenue, describing the casino industry as the only sector to be levied in this manner.
As reported by IAG, the Ministry has proposed increasing the maximum contribution charged to foreigner-only casino operators from 10% to 15%, as well as implanting a five-year license renewal system and a prior approval system for the transfer or acquisition of significant interests in casino companies.
Industry analysts have warned that such an increase could hit profits by as much as 37% in 2026 alone and result in a major scaling back of capex investment. The levy, which operates on sliding scale, is charged on a property-by-property basis.
In a statement, the Korea Casino Association said, “Unlike general levies that are imposed based on profit generation or income and corporate taxes, the casino industry is the only sector that pays to the fund based on ‘revenue’ even when operating at a loss. In fact, over the past decade, about half (8 to 15) of the 17 to 18 domestic casino operators have suffered from annual operating deficits.”
It added that increasing the levy from 10% to 15% “on top of the existing burden of paying individual consumption tax (2 to 4% of revenue), corporate tax,and local taxes, will hasten the bankruptcy of casino companies that are barely recovering from the aftermath of COVID-19 and are racing toward normalization.”
On the push to relicense casinos every five years rather than the existing ongoing system, the Association said, “Stricter regulations and protectionist burdens support the weakening of global competitiveness for reinvestment in the domestic casino industry. It is evident that this will result in the foreign VIP customers that the Korean casino industry has painstakingly attracted being lost to competitors in Southeast Asia and neighboring Japan.
“While major competitor nations are fostering their industries by opening up their domestic markets or respecting autonomy, Korea is adhering solely to stricter regulations. To enable the casino industry to contribute to national and regional economic development and tourism promotion, the conversion licensing system and the balance with tourism funds must be immediately abandoned, and a shift toward policy-based nurturing and support is required.”
The Korea Casino Association’s chairman, Choi Sung-wook, reiterated that stance on Thursday when speaking at “Tourism Industry Legal System Advancement Forum” at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building.
According to Choi, “Regulating casinos as a gambling industry on one hand while viewing them as a major source of the tourism fund on the other is a double standard. Raising the tourism fund levy cap to 15% goes beyond worsening business conditions and is tantamount to hastening the bankruptcy of loss-making companies.”
He also noted that the tourism fund took on KRW219.5 billion from casino operators in 2025 – the highest amount ever and 61.7% higher than the KRW135.7 billion it charged in 2019.
The government’s stance, as reported by local media outlet Seoul Economic Daily, is that current systems for licensing, ownership management and public contribution have remained unchanged for 30 years despite the growth of the casino industry – which has seen 10-fold revenue growth since 1995.
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