New data made public by a member of Korea’s Democratic Party has revealed that over 1,000 individuals entered the casino at Kangwon Land more than 100 times last year – raising concerns over problem gambling rates at the only Korean casino open to locals.
This, according to a report by The Korea Times, was the first time since COVID that the figure had exceeded 1,000 people. The data was submitted by Rep. Heo Sung-moo on Sunday and showed that 1,122 people had visited the casino at least 100 times last year – down from the 1,604 in 2020 but having shown steady increases ever since pandemic restrictions came to an end.
One customer visited 159 times between October 2024 and October 2025 while the 100 most frequent visitors all entered the casino at least 143 times each.
The Korea Times cited expert analysis that suggests visiting a casino more than four times a month places an individual in the high-risk category for gambling addiction, while visiting more than 100 times obliterates that threshold.
It also pointed to Kangwon Land’s own requirement that anyone visiting more than 60 times complete a mandatory prevention program outlining gambling risks, but suggested this process is operated as a mere formality. Heo, the report states, asked Kangwon Land whether it holds information on whether its high-frequency players are seeking help for gambling addiction and was told it doesn’t.
“This shows that Kangwon Land doesn’t even know how many of its frequent visitors fall into the high-risk category,” Heo said.
The report also cited a survey that it says showed that 54% of people who gambled at Kangwon Land exhibited signs of Gambling addiction – around 10 times more than the national average
“Rather than relying on perfunctory education sessions, Kangwon Land should strengthen its entry restrictions and expand its prevention budget to address the real problem of gambling addiction,” Heo added.
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