Coming Soon to South Korea: Macau Style Gambling!

The history of the gambling industry in South Korea has been rough, to say the very least. South Korean gambling law severely restricted the industry between the years 1969 and 2000. Since the dawn of this new millennium, however, things have eased up considerably. 

While gambling was deemed illegal, it was still relatively popular. The government was keen on this information and found a lot of trouble enforcing the laws. In order to cut back on the governments resources (which were often used to find black market gambling joints) and to satisfy popular demand, the government opened the market back up to gambling in 2000. 

Since then the gambling industry has become a booming business, to no one’s surprise and it just keeps on expanding. In 2006, Jeju Island was awarded the same Free International City status that can be seen in Hong Kong and Singapore. Immediate plans where put into action to convert this area into a gambling center. 

Though they experienced limited success, it wasn’t until very recently that these dreams had the opportunity to come true. Just yesterday, a VIP gaming room promoter, Asia Entertainment & Resources Ltd. announced that they plan to promote the very first VIP room in Jeju Island. They plan to offer Macau style gaming and have already concluded a favorable trial operation. 

If all goes well, traffic will pick up to the area and North Korea will be able to reap the financial benefits of being home to a gambling hub. However, if they really wanted to get a solid source of revenue flow going, they could open up to internet gambling in South Korea. 

At this point the government doesn’t issue licenses to online casinos in South Korea. In fact, it actually makes an effort to go after the international institutions that South Koreans access. Being that they are based in lands where online gambling is legal, however, the government has no jurisdiction and can do nothing.