Chinese authorities arrested 14 South Koreans on Wednesday for allegedly trying to lure Chinese citizens into foreigner-only casinos in Korea.
The Koreans arrested were employees from travel agencies and two of South Korea’s largest casino operators — Paradise Co. and Grand Korea Leisure Co.
A source at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing told Yonhap News that the charges include violations of foreign currency laws and attracting Chinese citizens to casinos.
In February, China’s Ministry of Public Security Deputy Director Hua Jingfeng announced that authorities would pursue and prosecute operators from other countries who had “set up offices in China to attract and drum up interest from Chinese citizens to go abroad and gamble.
With the government’s continued crackdown on graft and corruption drawing players away from Macau, gamblers have begun to travel more frequently to neighboring and nearby countries such as South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Prime Minister okays new site for Phu Quoc casino
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a multi-billion-dollar recreational complex with a casino in Bai Dai Ecotourism Area in Ganh Dau Commune on Phu Quoc Island.
Earlier reports had placed the development in Bai Thom Commune and Vinpearl Resort on the northwest side of the island.
Nguyen approved around 567 hectares in Bai Dai and west of the island will be used for tourism and recreational services, a golf course, resorts and a casino, and craft villages.
The complex is expected to comprise luxury hotels with 3,000 rooms, a conference center and a casino having 200-400 live tables and 2,000 gaming machines and investors should spend at least US$4 billion on the project.
