Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Chinese tourists' visits to Korea casinos remain thorny issue
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By Lee Hae-rin, Kim Se-jeong, Yulu Ao
Casino industry cautious about marketing activities amid Chinese gov't crackdowns on overseas gambling
Korea's casino industry has been thriving in recent years, fueled by a steady rebound in inbound tourism, as the country's 17 foreigner-only casinos benefit from a growing number of visitors from Asia.
This has prompted securities firms to issue bullish outlooks on the sector, as they expect more Chinese visitors in particular, given Korea's visa waiver program for Chinese group tourists.
Yet, their visits to casinos here are a thorny issue in the industry because it is illegal for Chinese citizens to gamble overseas.
While Chinese travelers are believed to account for a significant share of casino revenue, operators are reluctant to publicly identify them as their primary target market, let alone disclose data on their clients. Although they continue marketing activities in China, they do so discreetly.
The Chinese government is aware of the situation.
In a recent letter sent to The Korea Times, the Chinese Embassy in Seoul criticized the Korean casinos' practices of specifically targeting Chinese.
"Chinese law maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward gambling, and it is also illegal for Chinese citizens to gamble overseas. Under such circumstances, it is highly inappropriate for ROK casinos to conduct targeted marketing and recruitment specifically toward foreigners, especially Chinese people," Counselor Tang Liang wrote, using Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea (ROK).
The embassy also criticized media coverage that has portrayed the industry's growth primarily as a positive development for the Korean economy.
The Chinese government punishes not only Chinese citizens gambling abroad but also those organizing their participation in gambling.
"The 2020 Amendment to China's Criminal Law added Paragraph 3 to Article 303, creating the offence of organizing participation in gambling outside China's territory," Wu Qingshu, associate professor at Huaqiao University Law School, told The Korea Times. "Under this provision, anyone who organizes Chinese citizens to participate in gambling abroad, where the amount involved is substantial or other serious circumstances exist, is subject to the same penalties as those for the crime of operating a casino."
He said the punishment includes five years in prison, criminal detention or public surveillance, along with a fine.
Indeed, in 2015 Chinese authorities arrested 13 Korean nationals employed by Korean casino operators for allegedly soliciting gambling from Chinese citizens, one of few publicly known cases.
Revising its laws to impose harsher penalties for gambling-related offenses, the Chinese government is also educating its citizens on illegal gambling, such as sending warning messages to those leaving the country.
"China will strengthen education for outbound Chinese tourists, guiding them to exercise self-discipline and avoid crossing the legal red line by engaging in gambling," the embassy letter states.
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The crackdowns by the Chinese government, and the reality of Chinese clients still being the primary customer base, are keeping the Korean casino industry cautious about the issue.
People in the industry contacted by The Korea Times were tight-lipped. Some of them, speaking on condition of anonymity, only said that casino operators are well aware that Chinese authorities closely monitor overseas gambling involving their citizens.
As a result, operators avoid publicly identifying Chinese visitors as their clients and remain deliberately vague about their China-related marketing activities. They do not use the term "Chinese clients," instead categorizing them under the wider term of "those from Japan and Greater China."
Against this backdrop, China is urging the Korean government to tighten oversight of the casino industry.
"We hope that the Korean side will earnestly fulfill its regulatory responsibilities over tourism institutions, strictly standardize casino operations, and put an end to gambling recruitment targeting Chinese tourists," the embassy letter states.
Officials of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which issues operating permits for casinos, said the Chinese government has not raised a protest with the ministry against Korean casino operations or sought cooperation over the issue. They said the ministry is open to discussion if the Chinese government reaches out, declining to comment further.