South Korean tourism experts are requesting the creation of a task force to focus on nationals gambling abroad.
According to recent reports, participants at a joint public forum hosted by the Tourism Sciences Society of Korea (TOSOK) and The Korea Times saw primary stakeholders take an evaluation of the nation’s overseas gambling ‘problem’.
Participants urged for an expanded approach to curb problem gambling and introduce better policy for intervention, claiming regulatory loopholes and risks for those who travel overseas in search of a casino experience.
Currently, South Korea only has one operator that allows local gambling, Kangwon Land, with the rest of the venues being restricted to foreigners, in an attempt to curb gambling harm.
Citizens can also try their luck at horse racing, but many also engage in the murky market of online illegal gambling, prompting government concern.
South Korea’s laws prohibit gambling activities which go beyond leisure, even when conducted overseas. While this has not tempered demand (see the growing Philippine market), it does caution more high-profile actors from engaging in the activity where they can be casually seen.
According to data from Korea’s National Gambling Control Comission, overseas gambling by nations reached as high as KRW4.9 trillion in 2017, with some 80 percent of that spent in Macau and the Philippines.
