Kangwon Land, the only casino resort in South Korea permitted to offer bets to locals, has since Monday been allowed to increase the number of gaming customers it can receive at any one time to 2,300, from 1,800 previously.
That is according to a representative of Kangwon Land Inc, the operator of the resort (pictured), in response to a GGRAsia telephone enquiry.
Capacity restrictions have been in place as a Covid-19 countermeasure.
The representative added that from next Monday (November 8) the casino might be permitted to up its same-time visitor capacity to 3,000, i.e., 50 percent of the 6,000-visitor pre-pandemic level. It would depend on the Covid-19 outlook added the person.
Kangwon Land has been asking its customers to take part in a lot-drawing exercise, to determine who got the chance to visit under the capacity limits. Even during pre-pandemic times, it was reported by industry commentators that consumer demand for a seat at a gaming table or slot machine at Kangwon Land could exceed supply.
Since Monday, everyone visiting the Kangwon Land casino, including foreigners, have required a “vaccine pass” as proof they are fully jabbed against Covid-19.
Nonetheless Kangwon Land has been allowed by the authorities a grace period up to the start of Monday next week to implement the policy, according to the website of the Kangwon Land resort.
The details of the scheme were only confirmed on October 29 by the country’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, with the government adding it was being implemented on November 1.
South Korea’s vaccine pass is being issued to individuals a minimum of 14 days after confirmation that person has completed the double-vaccination procedure. The pass is generated either via a smartphone application, or via an endorsement on the individual’s personal identity card.
Those without a vaccine pass may still be admitted to Kangwon Land’s casino, provided they have a certificate or a telephone text message showing a ‘negative’ test result for Covid-19, that has been issued within 48 hours of their intended visit.
Kangwon Land resort is in a remote upland area in the east of the country, three hours by road from Seoul.
As of 12am on Wednesday, South Korea had recorded 2,667 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, taking the confirmed tally to 370,640, including 2,892 deaths, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. As of 12am on Wednesday, 75.7 percent of South Koreans registered as living in that country, had been fully-jabbed against Covid-19, according to the ministry.
