Caesars’s South Korean casino at risk

The authorities have given the US-based gaming company two months to come up with a solid investment plan or face losing its permit.

South Korea.- US gaming giant Caesars Entertainment is at risk of losing the permit for its South Korean casino project.

Progress on the 410,000-square-feet foreigner-only casino project in Midan City was halted in February 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since then, the company has failed to recruit new sponsors to back the project.

The South Korean authorities have threatened to cancel the permit for the casino development if the operator does come up with a solid investment plan in the next two months.

According to Casinogamespro, the cost of the project is estimated at US$150m, but Caesars’ partner, the Chinese development firm Sanya Construction, has suffered serious setbacks.

It had to suspend all construction operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic and could not provide the $27.3m it had committed to the South Korean casino.

Media reports indicate that only 25 per cent of the project is complete at this point. The timetable for construction has already suffered several delays.

If the US-based firm does not have an investment plan approved in time, its permit could be revoked at a meeting of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Office and South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in June.