High-risk gamblers flock back to Kangwon Land

The number of visitors frequenting Kangwon Land, the nation's only casino legally open to Korean nationals, more than 100 days a year has returned to the 1,000 range for the first time since the pandemic, raising concerns that gambling addiction is surging back to pre-COVID levels. According to data submitted by Rep. Heo Sung-moo of the Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday, 1,122 people visited Kangwon Land at least 100 times in 2023. The figure had dropped from 1,604 in 2020 to just four during the pandemic in 2021 due to government restrictions, before rebounding to 209 in 2022 and 951 last year. Located in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, Kangwon Land opened in 2000 to help revitalize the region’s post-mining economy. From October last year to this October, Kangwon Land data showed that the casino’s most frequent visitor entered 159 times in a single year, while the 100th-ranked customer visited 143 times. Visiting more than 100 days a year already means gambling once every three days — but these top visitors were effectively coming every other day. Considering the casino operates frWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times