New rules following spate of crimes
Jeju Province in South Korea will boost oversight of its casino industry following a series of gaming-related crimes. In 2014, for example, Chinese police caught about 100 Chinese illegally gambling at casinos on Jeju, according to the Korea Times. That same year, Korean police arrested five casino employees alleged to have embezzled 5 billion won (US$4.3 million). Two men were arrested for funneling 63 billion won from China to Korea. And earlier this year, a Chinese man was arrested and charged with killing a Chinese woman on Jeju and spending her money at a casino.
The new ordinance will improve upon one established in June, the Times reported, and take effect in January. Under the plan, casinos must increase video security, create a permit system for people to access restricted areas like computer rooms and ban the use of illegal gaming equipment.
Operators will also be required to calculate their daily income, add serial numbers to each game contract and identify and record information from all foreign customers. In addition, they must maintain a database of Korean visitors; South Korean nationals are banned from the gambling in any casino other than Kangwon Land unless they hold international passports.
Two major casino projects are under construction on Jeju, reports CalvinAyre.com: Landing International Development’s Resorts World Jeju; and Dream Tower, a joint venture of Lotte Tour Development and China’s Greenland Group, are both expected to open in early 2018.
