On May 20, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea approved a major reform plan for the Gangwon Land Casino, significantly raising the maximum betting limits for blackjack and Texas Hold'em poker tables from 100,000 KRW ($71.9) to 300,000 KRW ($215.7), with the new regulations being implemented in phases starting from May 21.
This follows last week's tenfold surge in the betting limit for VIP baccarat tables (from a minimum bet of 50,000 KRW to 500,000 KRW), marking another significant move as South Korea gradually relaxes gambling regulations to stimulate the market.
As the only casino in South Korea open to local residents, Gangwon Land is addressing performance pressures by optimizing its table game offerings—gambling sales in the first quarter of 2025 amounted to 316.8 billion KRW, a slight decrease of 0.2% year-over-year, with mid-field table game revenues falling 0.5% to 160.4 billion KRW.
Notably, the casino is also making strides in the international customer market, having initiated a "foreigners-only gambling zone" in February this year, following the approval in September last year to increase the betting limit for foreign guests from 100,000 KRW to 20 million KRW.
Despite a 33.6% year-over-year increase in net profits for Gangwon Land in 2024, reaching 4553.8 billion KRW, sluggish growth in core business has prompted authorities to boost the market by raising betting limits, a series of policy adjustments that may reshape the gambling industry landscape in South Korea.
