Jeju residents split on casino impact, survey reveals
The Jeju Island government has conducted a survey of 1,000 Jeju residents on their perception of foreign-only casinos.
South Korea.- The government of Jeju Island has conducted a survey on the island’s foreigner-only casino industry. Among the 1,000 respondents, 25.7 per cent viewed the overall effect of the casinos as positive while 28.6 per cent considered it negative. The remaining 45.7 per cent had no opinion.
Some 49.9 per cent agreed that casinos contributed to inbound tourists staying longer in Jeju, while 21.6 per cent disagreed and 28.5 per cent were neutral. Meanwhile, 49 per cent of respondents thought casinos help to attract foreign tourists.
When asked about the types of projects casinos should undertake to benefit the local community, 34.7 per cent believed that casinos should focus on creating job opportunities for youth, 29.7 per cent cited the tourism industry, 14.9 per cent village development, 12.2 per cent vulnerable groups and 8.5 per cent programmes for students.
Finally, 71.4 per cent were aware that there are foreigner-only casinos in the province, but only 40.4 per cent were aware that Jeju Island directly manages and supervises these casinos. The island has eight casino venues.
Lotte Tour Development, the operator of Jeju Dream Tower casino, has reported that casino revenue in 2024 rose 93.3 per cent year-on-year to KRW294.65bn (US$200.7m). Casino drop, the amount paid by customers to buy chips for table games, was nearly KRW1.52tn, up 19.2 per cent year-on-year. Hotel revenue stood at KRW84.52bn (US$57.4m), down 7.8 per cent year-on-year.
