The South Korean holiday island of Jeju has implemented since last weekend new entry measures for casinos, requesting patrons either proof of full vaccination against Covid-19 or a valid negative Covid-19 test. The information was confirmed on Friday to GGRAsia by a representative from the local government.
The new rules, enacted on Saturday (December 18), will be in place at least until January 2.
There was previously no requirement for gaming patrons to present either proof of full vaccination or a valid negative Covid-19 test to gain access to any of Jeju’s casinos.
The Jeju government is semi-autonomous, and has a regulatory system for its foreigner-only casinos that is specific to the island.
The latest rules maintain the casino capacity limit at 50 percent of the usual carrying capacity, a measure introduced from November 1. There are currently no limitations on the operating schedule for casinos in Jeju.
The new measures in Jeju coincided with the central government’s reinstatement of stricter Covid-19 prevention policies from Saturday following a surge in new infections across the country.
Currently only three out of Jeju’s eight in-commission foreigner-only casinos are open: Landing Casino at Jeju Shinhwa World (pictured in a file photo), a property of Hong Kong-listed Landing International Development Ltd, operating 24 hours per day; Jeju Dream Tower Casino, run by Korea Exchange-listed Lotte Tour Development Co Ltd, running 24 hours per day; and Paradise Casino Grand Jeju, run by Korea Exchange-listed Paradise Co Ltd, operating from 2pm until 6am.
Representatives from each of the three casinos in operation confirmed on Sunday they had been officially notified of the new rules by the Jeju government.
A representative of Landing Casino told GGRAsia on Friday that recently the property’s average volume of daily guests had been below the permitted maximum.
As of 5pm on Tuesday, Jeju had recorded 36 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the confirmed tally to 4,460, including 13 deaths, according to the Jeju government.
