Slot Machines in South Korea

South Korea is one of the odder slot machine markets in Asia. The machines exist, and in serious numbers, but almost every casino door in the country is closed to Korean citizens. If you hold a foreign passport, you have your pick of 17 casinos. If you are Korean, there is exactly one: Kangwon Land, a mountain resort casino a few hours east of Seoul. This page walks through where the machines are, what they cost to play, and what a first visit is like.

Where slot machines are legal in South Korea

Slot machines are legal in South Korea, but only inside licensed casinos. The official list of legal gambling runs to casinos, horse racing, cycle racing, motorboat racing, lotteries, sports promotion betting tickets and bullfighting, and slot machines fall under the casino category⁸. The same official sources are blunt about what is on the illegal side: internet gambling, hwatu flower cards, poker outside approved settings, and adult arcades, the seongin orak-sil that dot city neighborhoods⁸.

That last item matters, because adult arcades look like slot parlors. They are rooms of flashing, casino-style machines, often in basement spaces near nightlife districts, and they have been a running story in Korea for years. Some operate in a gray fashion by paying out gift certificates or vouchers rather than cash, and the authorities treat them as illegal gambling all the same⁸. If you see a "game room" offering prizes outside a licensed casino, it is not a place to play.

For the casino side, the split is simple. The country has 17 casinos, and 16 of them are legally reserved exclusively for foreign passport holders and expats². Only foreign visitors may enter those, with a passport check at the door². Korean nationals are permitted to gamble only in very limited circumstances, essentially at Kangwon Land and a few approved wagering venues such as the Seoul horse racing track⁹. So the practical answer to "where can I play slots" depends entirely on who you are:

• Foreign visitors and expats: any of the 17 casinos, including Kangwon Land.
• Korean citizens: Kangwon Land only.

If you want the wider picture of what is legal and where, see our page on gambling in South Korea, and for the venues themselves, casinos in South Korea.

Kangwon Land: the largest casino in the country

Kangwon Land Casino sits inside the High1 Resort complex on the highlands of Baegunsan Mountain in Sabuk-eup, Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, at 883 meters above sea level⁶. The casino floor holds 200 table games and 1,360 slot machines and video games, the largest scale of any casino in the country¹. The operator describes it, without much argument from anyone, as the only and largest casino in Korea open to both Koreans and foreigners¹.

The scale shows in the numbers: 200 table game stations and 1,360 slot machine and video game units, the biggest machine floor in the country¹. For context, that is comparable to a mid-sized Macau or Las Vegas property, and it exists largely because of the casino's unusual history. Kangwon Land was built in a former coal mining region as a development project, and a special law was passed to allow the one casino where domestic nationals could enter¹. That special status has not been extended anywhere else, which is why the other 16 casinos remain foreigner-only¹⁰.

The casino itself is the largest in the country, with 200 table games and 1,360 slot machines and video games, the biggest scale in South Korea⁶. The table floor includes 93 baccarat tables and 2 Big Wheel tables, alongside 1,191 video game machines¹¹. It is the only casino in the country open to both Korean nationals and foreigners, which is what sets it apart from every other venue covered on this page.

Slot machines and video game machines: what's on the floor

The machine floor at Kangwon Land is split into two types of equipment, and the distinction matters when you read the numbers. The official categories are slot machines and video games, both defined as "machine games" under the tourism enforcement rules⁷.

The operator's own pages count them in different ways on different pages, which can be confusing. The headline figure is 1,360 slot machine and video game units combined³. Within that, the reel-style slot machines are a small group: the operator lists them by credit value, with 23 machines at KRN 5, 26 at KRN 10, 107 at KRN 50, 56 at KRN 100 and 212 at KRN 500 face value³. That is a little over 400 slot machines proper, though those counts come from a different operator table and do not fit the 1,360-unit headline. The operator's Korean pages put the 1,360 units at 60 slot machines plus 1,300 video game machines, with credit values from KRW 2 up to KRW 100, and the 5-won machines the most numerous single group at 754 units¹². An English page lists 1,191 video game machines, so expect the exact split to vary as machines are rotated¹².

What is the difference in practice? The slot machines are the classic reel or video-reel games you would recognize anywhere, with bill acceptors that take all Korean banknotes as well as dedicated tickets¹⁴. The video game machines are the Korean-style video slots, similar in play but built as video terminals, and they dominate the floor because they run at lower credit values. If you are used to penny slots in the United States, the KRW 2 and KRW 5 machines will feel familiar: small stakes, fast play, long sessions on a modest budget.

The floor is not one giant room. Gaming is spread across areas of the resort, with the general gaming floor holding 160 table games and the machine banks arranged around them¹⁵. Expect a lively, smoky, crowded atmosphere on weekends and holidays, since this is the one casino in the country that every Korean gambler can visit.

Table games alongside the slots

The machines are only half of Kangwon Land. The operator's game listings break the table floor down as follows, 190 units in all¹⁶:

Baccarat is clearly the main event, as it is across Asia, with blackjack a distant second. On top of the live tables there are SG electronic table game machines: 208 units where you can play baccarat, roulette and dai-si on terminals, 64 of which also offer blackjack and casino war¹. These stadium-style electronic tables are a good middle ground if you want table game odds with machine privacy and lower minimums.

If you are a foreign visitor, the other 16 casinos also have machine floors, usually smaller and quieter. Paradise Casino Walkerhill in Seoul runs 205 slot machines and electronic table games alongside 86 baccarat tables⁵, and Paradise Casino Busan has 64 slot machines with baccarat, blackjack, roulette, poker and tai sai tables⁴. The Jeju casinos combined have more than 200 machines¹⁸. For more on those venues, see our pages on Paradise Casino Walkerhill, casinos in Busan and casinos in Jeju.

Credit values on the slot machines

Kangwon Land prices its machines by the won value of a single credit, and the range is wide enough to suit almost any budget³:

The cheapest video game machines play at KRW 2 per credit, so a few tens of thousands of won can keep you playing for a long time if the reels go your way. At the other end, the 212 slot machines at KRW 500 per credit are the high-roller end of the machine floor, where a maximum-credit spin can run into serious money³. Machines accept all Korean banknotes and dedicated tickets, so you feed cash directly into the machine rather than buying tokens at a cage¹⁴.

One thing you will not find is published payout rates. Neither Kangwon Land nor the regulator publishes a slot payout percentage for the Korean market, so there is no official figure to quote. If a website claims a specific payout rate for Korean slots, treat it with skepticism.

A separate world exists in social casino apps, which are legal in Korea because they use virtual money rather than real wagering. Even there the rules are tight: spending is capped at $50 in a single purchase and $500 per person per month, auto-betting is not allowed, and currency you buy in-game cannot be used for slot betting, only secondary money earned from games like poker and go-stop²⁰. Real-money online gambling, including online slots, is prohibited in South Korea, so the casino floors described above are the whole legal picture⁸.

Entry, charges and who may play

The entry rules are the part of a Korean casino visit that catches people out, so here it is plainly.

Who may play. Kangwon Land is the only casino in the country that admits Korean citizens and foreigners together¹. The other 16 casinos admit foreigners only, 19 and over, with a passport required for the nationality check². Korean nationals may not enter those 16 venues, with a narrow exception for overseas emigrants under the Overseas Emigration Act⁷.

Age. Persons under 19 are prohibited from entry at Korean casinos⁷.

Documents. At Kangwon Land, Korean citizens need an ID card, and foreigners need a passport; a driver's license is not accepted⁶. Foreigners with permanent residence may present an expatriate passport under the Emigration Act rules²². At the foreigner-only casinos, operators must verify at least one of the following: passport, travel certificate, diplomat ID, US military ID card, seaman's book, alien registration card, overseas Korean domestic residence report card, or permanent resident card⁷.

Charges. Kangwon Land charges an admission levy of KRW 9,000 per person, in effect since January 1, 2016¹⁹. The levy is payable in cash: credit cards are not accepted for the entry ticket, so bring notes¹⁹. Parking at the resort is free⁶. The foreigner-only casinos generally do not charge an entry fee, but check the individual venue.

Who can be turned away. Operators may refuse entry to people carrying weapons, members of criminal organizations, anyone drunk, violent, noisy or disorderly, and recognized professional gamblers such as card counters⁷. In practice, the door check at Kangwon Land is an ID and appearance check; at foreigner-only casinos like Seven Luck, everyone passes through a metal detector on the way in²³.

Practical tips for a visit

A few things worth knowing before you go to Kangwon Land:

• Bring your ID. Foreigners must have identification verified directly by the operator, and accepted documents include a passport, diplomat ID, seaman's book, alien registration card, overseas Korean domestic residence report card, or permanent resident card¹⁹.
• Expect a security check. At casino entrances, visitors must pass through a metal detector before being allowed in¹¹.
• Remember where you stand. There are 16 casinos operating exclusively for foreign visitors, plus others catering exclusively to foreigners, so check the entry rules on nationality and identification with the licensed venue before you go⁶.
• Korean nationals have one option. Kangwon Land is the only casino in the country open to Korean nationals as well as foreigners⁷.
• Plan for the whole resort. With hotels, skiing in winter, golf and hiking, most visitors combine the casino with a night or two at High1⁶.
• If you have problems on site, the security situation team can be reached at 033-590-6255²².
• Visitors, not gamblers, can also enter. Travel agency staff and visitors may enter with a visitor badge at foreigner-only casinos, though they must not be allowed to play⁷.

For foreign visitors who want to compare venues before choosing, our page on gambling in South Korea as a visitor covers the foreigner-only casinos in detail, and our Kangwon Land Casino at High1 Resort page goes deeper on that property.