A report by leading South Korean media outlet Yonhap News Agency has outlined concerns that foreigner-only casino operator Grand Korea Leisure could be directly soliciting customers in China and its Special Administrative Regions – an act that would violate Chinese law.
Citing an unnamed source, the outlet said GKL has in recent years sent marketing staff and senior executives on business trips to jurisdictions like Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mongolia where they engaged in customer management activities, including dining with existing clients and purchasing gifts for them. It added that concerns have been raised this could violate Chinese criminal law should these activities go beyond simple customer relationship management.
GKL, for its part, has denied the accusations, stating, “We do not engage in sales activities locally, such as directly soliciting casino visits or recruiting new customers. Our operations focus on responding to inquiries and requests from existing customers, gathering customer feedback and providing support for travel to Korea and general customer service.”
The claims bring back memories of an incident in 2015 when Chinese authorities arrested 14 South Korean casino employees of GKL and Paradise Co for recruiting Chinese citizens to gamble. Some Chinese travel agency employees were also arrested – part of China’s broader crackdown on foreign casinos marketing their products inside mainland China.
It was alleged that the casinos had offered Chinese customers free flights, free accommodation, entertainment and other incentives to entice them to Korea.
The same crackdown ultimately saw 19 employees of Australia’s Crown Resorts arrested in October 2016, with later inquiries into Crown in 2020 and 2021 finding that the company had discussed the Korea arrests as a potential warning – one that it failed to heed.
In detailing these new concerns around GKL’s international marketing activities, Yonhap News Agency quoted a source as stating, “For the past three years, GKL has consistently sent employees to places like Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Mongolia to meet local customers in person. Despite the 2015 incident where employees were arrested in China for recruiting local customers, the company is failing to properly manage the legal risks associated with overseas marketing.”
Pointing to various trips GKL’s head of marketing took to Hong Kong and Macau earlier this year, the source added, “There is a fundamental difference between touring casino facilities or meeting local officials for benchmarking purposes and directly meeting customers to solicit casino visits. In the latter case, a thorough prior review is required to ensure compliance with both local and Chinese laws.”
In response, GKL said, “Since the 2015 incident, we have not conducted any marketing-related business trips to China.”
China has moved to strengthen its gambling laws in the years since the 2015 and 2016 arrests. In December 2020, the country amended its Criminal Law to specifically criminalize the organization of Chinese citizens to participate in gambling outside China or across its borders.
Article 303(3), introduced by Criminal Law Amendment (XI), states that anyone who organizes Chinese citizens to participate in overseas gambling, where the amount involved is substantial or other serious circumstances exist, is to be punished under the provisions governing the operation of a casino. The offense carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, detention and a fine, rising to between five and 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine in serious cases.
Chinese authorities have also made it clear that the provision applies regardless of the organizer’s nationality, meaning that both Chinese and foreign nationals can be found guilty of an offence if they organize Chinese citizens to participate in cross-border gambling. This covers both physical gambling at overseas casinos and online gambling.
This is not the first controversy to envelop GKL in 2026, with South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reported to have launched an investigation amid allegations the company may have artificially inflated 2025 visitor numbers in order to improve management evaluations.
GKL is one of Korea’s leading foreigner-only casino operators, overseeing three casinos in Seoul and Busan under the Seven Luck brand.
The company recently reported total casino revenue of KRW227.2 billion (US$148 million) in the six months to 30 June 2026, representing an 8.2% year:-on-year increase.
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