Experts say the future of casinos in South Korea is bleak once Japan’s resorts open.

Japan is still working on opening integrated resorts, which is taking longer than planned. One person who works in the gaming industry thinks that once the casinos open, they could hurt South Korea’s casino business.

Jeju Dream Tower

At dusk, South Korea’s Jeju Dream Tower resort. When Japan opens integrated resorts, the number of people going to Jeju Island’s casinos, which are only open to foreigners, could go down. (Asia Gaming Brief picture)
There are a few casinos on the South Korean island of Jeju that are only open to foreigners. Its location makes it a great place for gamblers from all over the world, since there aren’t many legal options nearby.

Yoon Tae-Hwan, an expert in the field, says that Jeju Island might lose out when Japan finally gets casinos. Yoon thinks that Jeju should get ready now, even though the first Japanese IR probably won’t come out until at least 2028.

Asian gambling could be changed by Japanese IRs

By February 2023, it’s possible that Japan will approve the IR plans that Osaka and Nagasaki sent in this year. The timeline has already changed by about four to five years from what was first thought, but the end is reportedly in sight.

Yoon, a professor at South Korea’s Dong-Eui University, made his dire prediction at the Jeju International Casino Policy Forum on December 19 and 20. GGRAsia says that he said that once Japan’s IRs go live, the casino market on Jeju Island will “suffer severe setbacks.” There are eight homes on the market, but three of them are closed right now.

Most of the major tourism-related businesses and organizations in the area sent people to the two-day event. Grand Korea Leisure, Jeju Shinhwa World, and Jeju Dream Tower were all there. Everyone was able to hear what the experts had to say and make the right plans.

Yoon says that one of these preparations is for the casinos in Jeju to change the way they do things. Instead of focusing on Chinese high rollers, which has caused big problems for casinos in other places, it’s time to diversify.

They should instead focus on the large number of people who gamble. This is similar to what Macau’s casino owners are doing to make their businesses less dependent on Chinese VIPs. They should also work closely with other tourist-focused activities in the area to make programs that are good for everyone.

Also, the time has come to accept the digital future. Yoon says that the casino market could run better if it linked up with South Korea’s growing use of smart technology. Also, if they want to compete with Japan, gaming properties need to be able to offer a full IR experience.

Japan’s Big Plans

The Osaka and Nagasaki prefectures in Japan have big plans for their IR projects. Both of them jumped to the front of the IR race by coming up with complicated and expensive plans. In the end, they were the only two left standing.

The Japanese government has already taken longer than expected to approve the projects. Local governments are still waiting for a response. They had hoped to find a solution by the end of this year, but that won’t happen.

Now, Osaka thinks that a decision could be made in January or February, which could slow down the progress of the projects even more.

Because of this, the first IR might not show up in Japan until 2030. That would give Jeju Island and its tourism industry seven years to get ready for what Yoon says will happen anyway.