High-risk gamblers flock back to Kangwon Land

Entrance of Kangwon Land / Courtesy of Kangwon Land

The number of visitors frequenting Kangwon Land, the nation's only casino legally open to Korean nationals, more than 100 days a year has returned to the 1,000 range for the first time since the pandemic, raising concerns that gambling addiction is surging back to pre-COVID levels.

According to data submitted by Rep. Heo Sung-moo of the Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday, 1,122 people visited Kangwon Land at least 100 times in 2023. The figure had dropped from 1,604 in 2020 to just four during the pandemic in 2021 due to government restrictions, before rebounding to 209 in 2022 and 951 last year.

Located in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, Kangwon Land opened in 2000 to help revitalize the region’s post-mining economy.

From October last year to this October, Kangwon Land data showed that the casino’s most frequent visitor entered 159 times in a single year, while the 100th-ranked customer visited 143 times.

Visiting more than 100 days a year already means gambling once every three days — but these top visitors were effectively coming every other day. Considering the casino operates from 10 a.m. to 6 a.m. the next morning, many are essentially gambling all day, resting briefly, and returning the following day.

Experts say visiting a casino more than four times a month places an individual in the high-risk category for gambling addiction. Visiting 100 or more days a year far exceeds that threshold.

The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 lists behaviors such as needing to bet larger amounts to achieve satisfaction, repeatedly gambling to recover losses and sacrificing relationships or work as addiction indicators.

Interior view of Kangwon Land / Courtesy of Kangwon Land

Mandatory education seen as formality

To prevent addiction, Kangwon Land requires anyone who visits more than 60 days a year to complete a mandatory prevention program, which offers information on gambling risks and the casino’s internal policies.

However, critics say the program functions as little more than a formality, allowing frequent gamblers to continue visiting freely.

When Heo’s office asked whether Kangwon Land tracks whether these high-frequency customers are undergoing addiction treatment, the company responded that it does not have such information.

“This shows that Kangwon Land doesn’t even know how many of its frequent visitors fall into the high-risk category,” Heo said.

A national survey on gambling behavior found that 54 percent of Kangwon Land patrons showed symptoms of gambling addiction — nearly ten times the adult average of about 5.5 percent.

Despite generating cumulative sales of 4.66 trillion won ($3.3 billion) over the past five years, the casino spent only 0.4 percent, or 19.2 billion won, on addiction prevention programs during the same period.

Heo urged the company to go beyond symbolic measures. “Rather than relying on perfunctory education sessions, Kangwon Land should strengthen its entry restrictions and expand its prevention budget to address the real problem of gambling addiction,” he said.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.