Kangwon Land, the only casino in South Korea at which locals are permitted to gamble, is trialling a “foreigner-only casino zone” aimed at establishing itself as an international casino-resort destination.
The company announced Thursday that the trial operation of the foreigner-only zone is a follow-up measure to a change in casino business restrictions implemented in September, when the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approved a capacity expansion that will allow its casino space to grow from 14,513 square meters currently to 20,261 square meters, the number of gaming tables from 200 to 250 and gaming machines from 1,560 to 1,860.
Standard betting limits in the dedicated foreigner-only zone will be raised from KRW100,000 (US$70) to KRW20 million (US$13,800) to meet the level of overseas casinos, it explained.
In its announcement, Kangwon Land said it “aims to expand the attraction of foreign tourists” by providing the increased betting limits as well as other differentiated services such as dedicated gaming tables and staff who can speak various foreign languages. It noted that the casino had welcomed 24,292 foreign guests in 2024, up 5.8% on 2023 as a result of enhanced efforts to attract foreigners.
“Kangwon Land plans to continuously improve its services and operation system by reflecting the feedback of foreign customers as much as possible during the pilot operation period, and plans to further increase the casino betting limit in the foreigner-only zone to a maximum of KRW300 million (US$207,000) when it officially operates in the future to increase sales and strengthen global competitiveness,” the company explained.
Kangwon Land’s Acting CEO, Choi Cheol-gyu, added, “We have established and are operating a dedicated casino zone so that foreign tourists visiting Kangwon Land can use the casino more conveniently. We will continue to increase the number of foreign visitors this year to enhance our status as a global resort complex and contribute to revitalizing the national tourism industry and the economy of closed mine areas.”
The foreigner-only casino zone initiative comes after Kangwon Land announced last year a massive US$1.9 billion expansion of its resort, including US$128 million to be spent on a second casino facility.
The broader expansion of Kangwon Land will comprise a new hotel and various leisure facilities, including revamped walking trails around the casino complex, a wellness center and a luxury pool villa, among others.
