South Korea’s Kangwon Land Inc. has announced that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) has approved its casino business change report and the revised “Operational Rules for the Foreigner-Only Gaming Floor.”
The decision was confirmed on September 19th, 2025, and disclosed in a filing to the Korea Stock Exchange.
According to the company, the approved changes include the addition of two new machine games at the foreigner-only floor, raising the total number of machine games from 1,610 to 1,612. The updated breakdown comprises 60 slot machines and 1,552 video games.
The ministry also approved amendments to the internal rules governing the foreigner-only gaming floor. The revisions add the two new machine games under the annex table on “Game Types and Betting Limits” and introduce a new maximum betting limit of KRW50,000 ($36). In addition, two foreign exchange machines will be installed—one near the fourth-floor exchange counter and another within the fifth-floor foreigner-only gaming floor.
Kangwon Land introduced a dedicated foreigner-only gaming zone in February 2025, following government approval in September 2024 for a broader set of operational changes, including expansions to its casino area and adjustments to betting restrictions. The foreigner-only floor was designed to attract more international visitors and align Kangwon Land with foreigner-exclusive casinos operating elsewhere in South Korea and the region.
Initially, the foreigner-only zone came with significantly higher betting limits compared with the main floor, rising from KRW100,000 ($72) to KRW300,000 ($216), and later to KRW20 million ($14,400) during the pilot phase launched earlier this year. The policy reflects the government’s willingness to relax restrictions on foreigner play while maintaining strict limitations on Korean nationals, who are only permitted to gamble at Kangwon Land under heavily regulated conditions.
It is worth noting that Kangwon Land is the only casino in South Korea that allows local residents to gamble. Expanding to foreign visitors through updates to the foreigner-only gaming floor is part of the company’s strategy to diversify its customer base and boost revenue by appealing to overseas gamblers. The move also supports South Korea’s broader tourism objectives, as authorities seek to attract high-spending foreign visitors amid competition from integrated resorts in neighboring markets.
