Are Asian Casinos Open 24 Hours? Opening Hours and Closures

Opening hours at a glance: which Asian casinos run 24 hours

If you are planning a night out, the first thing to know is that "casino opening hours" in Asia are not one answer. A large group of venues never close at all, a second group keeps set hours, and a third group closes for specific days or periods.

The clearest 24-hour group is South Korea's foreigner-only casinos. Seven Luck Casino at Seoul Dragon City is open 24 hours¹. The Seven Luck Gangnam COEX branch is open 24 hours⁹. Alpensia Casino in Pyeongchang runs 24 hours¹⁰. On Jeju, Jeju Shilla Hotel Casino is open 24 hours and open all year round², Jeju KAL Hotel Casino is open 24 hours and open all year¹¹, and Paradise Casino Jeju Grand is open 24 hours³. In Busan, Paradise Casino Busan is open 24 hours¹².

Outside Korea, the big resort operators follow the same pattern. MGM's casino properties typically operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with the exception of Empire City¹³. An earlier filing covering the same group put it slightly differently: all casino resorts operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year, except Grand Victoria, which operates 22 hours a day¹⁴. Either way, the working assumption at a large integrated resort is that the floor never closes.

The exceptions are worth knowing before you travel. Kangwon Land, the only Korean casino open to Korean citizens, runs 12:00 to 06:00 the next day⁴. The Hyatt Regency casino is open Monday to Thursday from 14:00 to 06:00 the next day, and 24 hours from Friday to Sunday¹⁵. And casinos in Korea's closed mining areas must close daily from 06:00 to 10:00⁸.

South Korea's 17 casinos: who can enter which venue

South Korea licenses 17 casinos in total, and 16 of them are foreigner-only⁶. That single number explains most of the confusion visitors run into. If you hold a foreign passport, almost every casino in the country is open to you. If you hold a Korean passport, almost none of them are.

At a foreigner-only venue, you need your passport and Korean nationals are not admitted⁶. The regulator's guidance to operators is to strengthen nationality screening and the management of customer data, which in practice means the door staff look carefully at the passport you hand over¹⁷. This is not a formality you can talk your way around.

The practical effect on your evening is small if you are a visitor. You walk in, show the passport, and you are on a 24-hour floor. It matters a great deal if you are a Korean citizen hoping to play, because your only option in the entire country is Kangwon Land.

Kangwon Land is the first casino in Korea where Koreans are allowed entry¹⁸, the first casino-style hotel in the country open to both Korean nationals and overseas visitors¹⁹, and the largest casino in South Korea²⁰. Both Koreans and foreigners may enter²⁰. It opened on October 28, 2000, and was fully renovated on March 28, 2003 as a hotel casino with a 477-room first-class hotel¹⁰. The casino floor covers about 13,000 pyeong²⁰.

Kangwon Land: hours 12:00 to 06:00 and the one-casino exception

Kangwon Land's hours are the single most useful fact on this page for Korean residents. The casino runs 12:00 to 06:00 the next day⁴. It is open all year without holidays¹⁸. If you arrive at 07:00 expecting to play, you will be waiting until noon.

The venue sits in Sabuk-eup, Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province²⁰. It is a resort as much as a casino, with High1 Ski Resort, High1 Water World, the Kangwon Land Gondola, Jeongseon Arirang Market and Jeongseon Oil Market nearby²⁰. Parking is available and free⁵.

Two limits shape how long you can actually stay. Entry is capped at a maximum of 15 days per month, and use is capped at a maximum of 15 hours per day⁶. If you exceed the monthly limit, you are refused entry, and the same applies if you have an unpaid admission fee²¹. The daily cap of 15 hours sits inside the casino's published opening hours, which run from 12:00 to 06:00 the next day²².

For anything you need before you go, the main switchboard is +82-1588-7789, which also takes reservations⁴. There is a separate security situation line on +82-033-590-6255⁴.

Foreigner-only casinos: passport checks and 24-hour floors

The foreigner-only floors are where the 24-hour answer really lives, and the entry rule is the same everywhere: passport required, Korean nationals not admitted⁶.

On Jeju, Jeju Shilla Hotel Casino is a foreigners-only venue open 24 hours and open all year round². It sits at 75 Jungmun Gwangwang-ro 72beon-gil, Seogwipo-si, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, covers 260 pyeong, and is decorated in a traditional Western European style². The casino line is +82-64-730-1100². Jeju KAL Hotel Casino is also a foreigners-only casino, open 24 hours and open all year¹¹. Paradise Casino Jeju Grand is a foreigners-only facility open 24 hours³, located inside MAISON GLAD hotel²³.

In Busan, Paradise Casino Busan is a foreigners-only casino open 24 hours¹². The number is +82-51-749-3550, or +82-51-749-3550 to 4, and parking is available¹².

In Seoul, Paradise Casino Walkerhill is foreigners only, aged 19 or older, and you must carry your passport because age and nationality are checked at the door²². Walkerhill Casino is a foreigners-only casino in central Seoul⁶. Paradise City is also foreigners only⁶.

The minimum age across these venues is 19, and persons under 19 are prohibited from entry⁶. That is a year younger than Kangwon Land, so a 19-year-old foreign visitor can play at a foreigner-only floor but not at Kangwon Land.

Entry levy: KRW 9,000 for Korean nationals at Kangwon Land

Kangwon Land charges an admission fee of KRW 9,000⁵. The levy breaks down as KRW 6,300 in individual consumption tax, KRW 1,890 in education tax and KRW 810 in additional tax⁴.

The exemption is the part most visitors miss. Customers holding a foreign passport, and Korean citizens holding an overseas permanent residence passport under the Overseas Emigration Act as prescribed by presidential decree, are exempt from the entry tax⁴. You must show the passport itself. A driver's license is not accepted for the exemption⁴.

So a foreign visitor to Kangwon Land pays nothing to walk in, while a Korean citizen resident in Korea pays KRW 9,000. Bring the passport, not the driving license, if you want the waiver.

Entry rules that affect when you can get in: ID, age and visit limits

Getting in is not only about the clock. Several rules decide whether the door opens for you at all.

At Kangwon Land, the minimum age is 20, judged by your birthday at the time of entry⁴. Entry is barred for minors under 20, local residents, and persons subject to entry restrictions, and ID is checked at the door⁴. Customers who bought a ticket but cannot show ID are refused entry⁴. For Korean nationals, a resident registration card or driver's license works as ID, but a passport alone is not accepted because it does not confirm your place of residence⁴. Intoxicated visitors are absolutely barred from entry⁴. The venue requires an ID card and cash for admission⁵.

At the foreigner-only venues, the check is nationality and age. Paradise Casino Walkerhill admits foreigners aged 19 or older and requires a passport at entry for the age and nationality check²². The regulator's guidance to foreigner-only casinos is to strengthen nationality screening and customer data management¹⁷.

Elsewhere in Asia the age rules differ. Macau casinos do not allow anyone under 21 to enter⁷. In the Philippines, PAGCOR casinos admit tourists and foreigners who are not residents of the Philippines, plus residents with a gross income for the previous year of at least P50,000.00 certified by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and guests of qualified persons limited to two, provided the guests are at least 21²⁵. In Japan, under-20s, members of organized crime groups, those with an unpaid admission fee and those exceeding the entry limit are banned from entering a casino²¹.

What you cannot bring in and other floor rules

The rules that shape a visit are mostly about who may be on the floor and when, rather than what is in your bag.

In Korea's closed mining areas, the casino must close daily from 06:00 to 10:00⁸. The foreigner-only gaming area of those premises must not admit Korean nationals⁸. That is the same nationality rule you meet everywhere else, applied to a specific category of venue.

In Vietnam, the draft decree on casino business splits people on the premises into two groups: players, and other individuals entering to perform related tasks such as casino staff, cleaning staff and maintenance staff. The second group may not take part in casino games²⁷. If you are visiting a Vietnamese casino, that means only players sit at the tables.

For Kangwon Land specifically, the practical list is short.

• Bring ID and cash⁵.
• Do not arrive intoxicated⁴.
• Do not expect to be admitted if you are a local resident or subject to an entry restriction⁴.
• Keep an eye on your monthly tally, because the 15-day cap is enforced at the door⁶.

Events and seasonal schedules that change opening hours

Most of the time, a 24-hour casino is 24 hours because the operator says so in its own filings and listings, and that does not change with the season. MGM's properties operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with the stated exception of Empire City¹³. The earlier filing names Grand Victoria as the 22-hour exception¹⁴.

Where schedules do move is at venues with set hours. The Hyatt Regency casino runs 14:00 to 06:00 Monday to Thursday and 24 hours from Friday to Sunday¹⁵. That weekend extension is the pattern to watch for: a casino with weekday hours may open around the clock once the weekend starts.

Kangwon Land is open all year without holidays¹⁸, so public holidays do not change its 12:00 to 06:00 window⁴. Jeju Shilla Hotel Casino and Jeju KAL Hotel Casino are both open all year round². If a venue near you lists a closing day, treat that as the exception rather than the rule for the region.

For the wider picture of who can enter which venue and what is played inside, see casinos and integrated resorts in Asia and Asia's casino destinations compared. If you are working out which games are available where, which casino games are allowed in each Asian jurisdiction covers that ground.