MCST posts Casino Business New Business Type Designation Notice No. 2024-0052

South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) posted Casino Business New Business Type Designation Notice No. 2024-0052 on December 18, 2024, designating a new business type for the casino industry¹. The notice took effect the same day it was published¹.

The announcement was posted under the ministry's legal materials section for directives, examples and notices¹. The full text was attached as a Hangul Word Processor (HWP) file titled "카지노업 신규 영업종류 지정 고시(문화체육관광부 고시 제2024-0052호).hwp"¹. The ministry's Convergence Tourism Industry Division is listed as the responsible department, with contact number 044-203-2886¹.

The notice page states that details are contained in the attached file, and that the body text cannot be provided in Braille due to the viewer system, advising users to download the file to check the contents¹.

The specific business type designated, the scope of casino operations affected, and the reasons for the designation have not been reported in the notice page text¹. The notice page does not state which casinos or operators are affected, nor does it describe any licensing or operational changes that follow from the designation¹.

What it means for players

South Korea's casino sector is split between a single casino licensed for domestic residents and multiple casinos reserved for foreign visitors only. The notice designates a new business type within the casino industry, but the notice page does not specify what that type is or how it differs from existing categories¹. Whether the new designation affects where locals, expats or visitors can gamble, or under what conditions, has not been reported¹. Players in South Korea can check the current licensing framework through the Types of Gambling Licenses Explained: Concessions, Casino, Online, B2B and B2C guide and the Gambling Regulators and Licenses in Asia: Who Licenses What and How to Check overview. For country-specific rules, see Can I Gamble in South Korea?.

What happens next

The notice was effective from December 18, 2024, the same date it was posted¹. No further steps, consultation periods or implementation timelines are stated on the notice page¹. The full text is available only in the attached HWP file¹.