Jeju aims casino permit renewal system to shake up industry

Sep 06, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Jeju, a semi-autonomous region of South Korea, wants the national government to approve a renewable-licence system for the foreigner-only casinos on the holiday island – rather than the current ‘permanent’ permits – a step Jeju thinks will stimulate the local sector.

The island’s tentative proposal is for seven-year licences with the possibility of renewal. The local government told GGRAsia the terms regarding length of such a licence, were still under discussion.

Some Jeju casinos are only operating currently for eight hours per day, a Jeju tourism official told GGRAsia, mentioning also there had been slow post-pandemic recovery of tourism, and a lag in flight-capacity comeback.

GGRAsia has confirmed the limited operational hours of at least one venue, based on a site check. A sign was displayed at the entrance showing it was open from 2pm to 10pm daily.

A renewable-licence system can stimulate the local sector, according to Park Yong Chan, deputy director of the Tourism Industry Division of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.

“The current Jeju casino industry has not entirely recovered to pre-Covid 19 levels… international direct flights to Jeju are vital for tourism, but the number of such flights is currently insufficient,” he told GGRAsia in an interview.

Mr Park also mentioned what he termed the “permanency” of casino permits under the current Jeju licensing system on the island, meaning that incumbents don’t face the challenge of having to renew their rights.

He added: “The blind spot of the [Jeju] casino licensing system is a current licence’s ‘permanency’ once it has been approved.” He said he wasn’t able to comment on the evolution of licensing for casino venues on the South Korean mainland, in terms of whether they also had “permanent” licences.

Though Mr Park noted: “We are proposing a… renewal system [for Jeju], but it needs the country’s National Assembly to consent at the final stage of the amendment,” he explained. The island has a degree of autonomy on regulation of its casinos, but that matter must be handled at national level.

Mr Park told GGRAsia that one of the island’s luxury hotels – called Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Jeju Ocean Front, where Gongzi Casino is currently based – will close at the end of this year, with the accommodation reopening in 2026 under Marriott International Inc’s Sheraton brand.

Greater oversight

A representative for Gonzi Casino told GGRAsia by telephone that no decision had been taken regarding casino operations at the site beyond December this year.

Results issued in January this year from an autumn-2023 survey of Jeju residents, indicated a desire for more local-government oversight of the local casino industry.

Jeju Provincial Police Agency revealed in December last year there had been five alleged criminal incidents in November related to the premises of Jeju casinos. Most were said to involved suspected loan sharks allegedly holding people illegally, to pressure them over purported debts.

Since then, enforcement action, including exclusions and one-year bans had been taken against individuals.

Mr Park told GGRAsia: “We understood some islanders’ sentiment, but Jeju’s casino control procedures are already tougher than those on the mainland. We are visiting every casino at night on the weekends for supervision” purposes.

He added there had been no reports of such loan shark activity this year.

He stated: “We intend to improve our communication with island residents about our ongoing efforts.”

The Jeju government also says it is working to promote inbound tourism based on identification of key target markets. Local officials attended the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia in Macau in June. The Jeju authorities have also given a business-to-business presentation to Thailand-based operators of outbound tours.

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