Jeju Island, Sales Survey Conducted for 8 Foreigners-Only Casinos

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Park Chang-won] Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced that from the 6th to the 15th, it will conduct a sales survey of eight foreigner-only casinos in the province.

The casino sales survey is an annual procedure conducted every April as a preliminary step for imposing the Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund.

Jeju Province plans to appoint accounting experts to enhance the transparency and detailed verification of the Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund calculation.

The main survey items include ▲reported sales according to casino business operation rules ▲financial statement-related matters ▲game contracts and related contracted games* ▲casino accounting records and management status.

The provisional sales of the eight casinos in the province last year amounted to approximately 69 billion KRW, a decrease of more than 60% compared to 190.3 billion KRW in 2019.

This is because the number of visitors to foreigner-only casinos in the province last year (166,873 people) decreased by 55% compared to 369,409 people the previous year due to the closure of air routes caused by COVID-19.

Currently, four of the eight casinos are closed.

Accordingly, the amount imposed for the Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund this year is expected to decrease by 70% to around 4 billion KRW compared to 15.1 billion KRW last year.

Jeju Province strengthens casino transparency through annual sales surveys.

This year as well, regardless of sales scale, to secure the reliability of the Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund calculation, a thorough investigation and verification will be conducted through document review and on-site inspections of casino operations and accounting procedures.

Kim Jae-woong, Director of the Tourism Bureau of Jeju Province, said, “Since 60-70% of the Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund resources come from foreigner-only casinos, we will actively seek support measures to revitalize the casino industry facing difficulties and build an environment where a sound casino industry can develop in harmony with residents.”