Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JUN 2022年6月 亞博匯 30 COVER STORY SOUTH KOREA SouthKorea’s casino industry has been well and truly battered by the COVID-19 pandemic – not surprising when you consider that 16 of the nation’s 17 casinos are restricted to foreigners only. The two largest foreigner-only casino operators, Paradise Co and Grand Korea Leisure, have suffered significant losses, with Paradise reporting net losses of KRW48.74 billion (US$38.6 million) and KRW25.22 billion (US$20.0 million) in 2020 and 2021 respectively, while GKL recorded a loss of KRW113.27 billion (US$94.4 million) in 2021, having previously lost KRW64.3 billion (US$57.9 million) in 2020. South Korea has also experienced some lag in its COVID-19 recovery – officials said the Omicron outbreak peaked only in late March – however moves are now well underway to have the country catch up to its regional peers who are rapidly opening up to the world. Almost all social distancing rules, with the exception of mask wearing, were dropped for the first time in more than two years on 18 April, with capacity limits for both public and private venues removed. That same month it also removed a mandatory seven-day quarantine requirement for fully-vaccinated travellers, although a negative COVID-19 test is still required for entry. There has also been positive news for the holiday island of