Jeju’s Gold Mountain Casino on brink of 3-month licence pause over staff cheating claims: govt official

Gold Mountain Casino, a foreigner-only facility on South Korea’s holiday island of Jeju, is likely within days to see a three-month suspension of its gaming operations, unless it can offer a strong argument against such a move. That is according to information obtained by GGRAsia from the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Government. The likely sanction follows an investigation into allegations that some staff at the casino cheated three Chinese customers out of approximately KRW100 million (US$75,598 currently) during blackjack games on June 7 and 8, per the local authority’s information. Initial reports had mentioned a figure of KRW80 million. According to a Jeju official spoken to by GGRAsia, a three-month operational suspension is the prescribed first administrative penalty – subject to any plea of mitigation – for the regulatory infringement involved, which is described as “using altered gaming equipment”. A second regulatory violation can result in licence revocation. The official told GGRAsia: “We are still reviewing the casino operator’s representations. Under existing regulations, we may reduce the three-month suspension if mitigating grounds are identified.” The province does not have the power to extend a suspension beyond three months in the case of a first infringement. The official said that, separately, the same matter had been “referred to prosecutors in Jeju on September 11,” adding “they are conducting a separate investigation”. The province’s penalty will be “independent” of the criminal investigation’s “outcome or any subsequent court ruling,” added that official. Since 2009, Jeju has had certain elements of regulatory control over the island’s foreigner-only casino industry. Gold Mountain Casino was previously known as Megaluck Casino, when it was operated by Hong Kong-listed New Silkroad Culturaltainment Ltd. The operation was sold to a local company, Geumsan Co Ltd, in 2024, according to industry official data issued in May, by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which has overall control of the country’s casino sector.