{"id":777047205,"date":"2026-09-10T08:57:05","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T11:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777047205"},"modified":"2026-09-10T13:05:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T16:05:56","slug":"south-korea-may-delay-proposed-casino-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/south-korea-may-delay-proposed-casino-reforms","title":{"rendered":"South Korea may delay proposed casino reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Industry representatives have warned that the measures could discourage investment and affect the country\u2019s regional competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

South Korea.- Proposed casino regulatory changes in South Korea could be delayed as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism<\/strong> continues discussions with operators. The ministry had initially planned to submit its amendment in September<\/strong>, but the timetable could be affected by the Chuseok holiday from September 24 to 27 and the National Assembly\u2019s annual audit of the government, scheduled from October 6 to 27. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A ministry official told MTN that meetings with individual operators are continuing and that the proposal could be submitted before the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As proposed, the reforms would raise the maximum contribution to the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund from 10 to 15 per cent <\/strong>of annual gross gaming revenue (GGR) and introduce a five-year licensing system. However, the industry has raised concerns over the potential impact on investment. Shin Jong-ho<\/strong>, secretary general of the Korea Casino Association, told MTN that a higher contribution could discourage investment in casino facilities and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government is reportedly considering transitional arrangements for casinos that have recently obtained licences to limit disruption from the new framework. The proposed 15 per cent rate would not apply to all casino revenue<\/strong>. The ministry plans to establish a revenue band, with earnings above a threshold yet to be determined subject to the increased contribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ministry says the reforms are needed to modernise a regulatory framework<\/strong> that has remained largely unchanged for nearly 30 years. Five-year licensing reviews would assess regulatory compliance, financial viability and management competence.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> South Korea casino executives warn regulatory changes could threaten IR investment<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Industry representatives have warned that the measures could discourage investment and affect the country\u2019s regional competitiveness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2384,"featured_media":777047209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is deliberating proposed casino regulatory reforms, including an increase in the GGR contribution to the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund from 10% to 15% and the introduction of a five-year licensing system. Industry stakeholders express concerns that these measures could deter investment and impact regional competitiveness, potentially delaying the amendment's submission. The ministry is considering transitional arrangements and a tiered GGR contribution structure to mitigate disruption.","focusai_entities":"Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea Casino Association, Shin Jong-ho, MTN, National Assembly","focusai_location":"South Korea","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (0.95), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (1.0), investor_analyst (0.95), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"GGR Threshold Impact?","query":"What specific revenue thresholds is the Ministry considering for the tiered GGR contribution, and how might this impact the financial viability of integrated resorts versus smaller casino operations?"},{"label":"Licensing Review Criteria?","query":"Beyond financial viability and management competence, what specific regulatory compliance metrics will be emphasized in the proposed five-year licensing review process, particularly concerning responsible gambling and AML frameworks?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16338,24628,154,158],"tags":[29,24619,225],"class_list":["post-777047205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-asia-news","category-highlight-of-the-week","category-legislation-news","category-slider-home","tag-casino","tag-finance","tag-legislation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777047205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2384"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777047205"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777047205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777047216,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777047205\/revisions\/777047216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777047209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777047205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777047205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777047205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}