The COVID19 is just not going away and the operators are banging their heads. New pandemic restrictions have been imposed in COVID19 and the operators are returned to square one.
It is announced on Wednesday, local authorities had imposed new restrictions on the public gatherings effective from Thursday. The affected areas include the capital Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gwangju, and other parts of Gangwon-do province. Incheon will follow the same suit from November 23.
The ‘Step 1.5’ vary according to the gathering type. Some facilities are allowed to operate between 30%-35% of the capacity. However, casinos and race-betting operations will be limited to only 20%. This is yet another blow to the local gambling industry.
Two of the seven-luck branded casinos of Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) are in Seoul. Paradise operates one casino in Seoul and one in Incheon. The Paradise City in Incheon is the only integrated resort in South Korea and has already dealt with two complete shutdowns.
Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 313 new COVID19 infections on Wednesday. This is the fifth straight day where the number increased more than 200 and exceeded 300 the first time after August 29. Most of the cases around 254 of them are considered domestic transmission (74% in Seoul) and 68 of them are imported, local media reported.
GKL and Paradise are forbidden to allow the local gambler to the floor. They are now dependent on a very thin population of foreigners and dual citizen holders with international passports.
Local media reported that Gangwon-do province is badly impacted. This hangs the fate of Kangwon Land casino in balance.
This is the only casino where locals are allowed to gamble. The government may shut it down or reduce the capacity. The government-owned and run casino is already operating below the normal capacity.
Source: https://calvinayre.com/2020/11/19/casino/south-korea-casinos-face-further-covid-restrictions/