S.Korea expands tourism fund loans to cover casino operators’ construction projects

South Korea’s government has expanded a loan scheme for casino operators, allowing them for the first time to borrow from the country’s Tourism Promotion and Development Fund for construction work or certain other forms of investment in facilities. Casino operators were already eligible for loans to cover operating expenses. The revised guidelines from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism – the department overseeing the nation’s casino sector – establish a separate category of loans for investment in facilities The fresh guidelines – reviewed by GGRAsia – come amid a proposal from the national government to increase to 15 percent the maximum share of annual gross gaming revenue that individual casino venues must contribute to the tourism fund. Any infrastructure-related loans drawn from the fund would attract 3.80 percent annual interest for larger operators, and could be used toward construction, expansion and renovation work, per GGRAsia’s checks. In late August, the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point, to 3.00 percent, reported Reuters. Kangwon Land Inc, operator of a resort with the only casino in South Korea permitted to serve locals, will be eligible to apply for infrastructure loans from the tourism fund, as well as the operators of foreigner-only venues. An industry source told GGRAsia that loans via the tourism fund would be capped at KRW15 billion (US$11.0 million) for new construction or expansion, and KRW8 billion for renovation. For large and medium-sized companies, however, the applicable limits are 75 percent of those amounts. In April 2025, Kangwon Land Inc said the estimated budget of its “K-HIT 1.0” resort-expansion project was KRW3.00 billion. Under the new loan system, the ceiling for loans relating to casino facilities within “designated tourism zones or tourism complexes” will be KRW20 billion, although that higher ceiling would only apply to smaller companies. The ministry said total lending via the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund for the fourth quarter this year – the first period of the revised system – would be capped at KRW150 billion. Going forward, 70 percent of quarterly lending via the fund will be allocated to areas outside the capital, Seoul. The ministry’s guidelines state that applicants for new-construction loans or expansion loans must already have obtained the required casino-business and building approvals. Casino operators must also maintain their gaming licence after construction is completed, otherwise, the government can demand repayment of the loans. The Seoul Economic Daily news outlet reported that the move to permit casino-industry infrastructure financing via the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund was the first such step since the fund was introduced in 1998. Earlier this month, GGRAsia was told by industry sources that the timetable for South Korea’s casino regulatory reforms – including possibly having time-limited licences for the foreigner-only venues – could slip, amid industry consultations.