South Korea's regulated gambling industry generated KRW 26.27tn in 2025, up 2.9% year on year, according to the Korean National Gambling Control Commission's Gambling Industry Statistics 2025 report. While the report does not explicitly define the figure, it appears to refer to total gambling turnover.
The country has historically tended to focus on foreign-only casinos and tourism trends. However, domestic demand remains a major driver of the market, with local-welcoming casino, lotteries, horseracing and sports betting accounting for a significantly larger share of regulated gambling revenue than casinos.
Domestic demand drives market
South Korea's regulated gambling market is built around a small number of state-backed monopolies, with each operator responsible for a specific gambling vertical. DongHang Lottery manages the national lottery, the Korea Racing Authority holds the exclusive licence for horseracing wagering and Sports Toto oversees sports betting, cycle racing, motorboat racing and bullfighting betting.
Shares of verticals in GGR:
Lottery: KRW 3.6trn (30.3%)
Horseracing: KRW 1.72trn (14.5%)
Sports betting: KRW 2.16trn (18.2%)
Casino open to domestic population: KRW 1.43trn (12.0%)
Foreigner-only casino: KRW 2.26trn (19.1%)
Other: KRW 0.70trn
Total GGR: KRW 11.86trn
Online betting gains momentum
According to the commission, overall industry growth was supported by the addition of 665 lottery retail outlets and improved accessibility through online lottery sales.
Indeed, one of the most notable developments in the 2025 data was the rapid shift toward online gambling channels. Online horseracing turnover reached KRW 1.37trn, an 87.6% increase year over year, while online sports promotion betting ticket sales climbed 42.2% to KRW 1.22trn.
South Korea GGR by verticals (in KRW trn)
The Korea Racing Authority began a trial of online betting in December 2023 before officially launching the service in June 2024. Sports Toto had already established an online betting platform, allowing it to benefit earlier from growing digital demand.
South Korean foreign-only casino market accounted for 19.1% of total regulated gambling revenue in 2025. Kangwond Land, the only casino in South Korea permitted to serve local residents accounted for 12.1%. It is important to note that at this casino domestic players contributes a non-negligible share of total casino GGR, as it is the largest casino in the country. Taking into account horseracing, sports betting and lottery products, this highlights that a significant portion of South Korea's gambling market is driven by domestic demand.
Domestic demand remains a major driver of the market, with local-welcoming casino, lotteries, horseracing and sports betting combined accounting for a significantly larger share of regulated gambling revenue than casinos
Casino sector dominated by foreign still important and grows, but faces challenges
South Korea's casino sector generated aggregate GGR of approximately KRW 3.70trn in 2025, up 14.6% from KRW3.23trn in 2024. Casino GGR also exceeded the pre-pandemic level by 26.1%. The total covers all 18 licensed casinos in the country, including 17 venues restricted to foreign visitors and Kangwon Land. Foreign-only casinos remain an important segment of the industry, with their 19.1% share in total GGR.
While foreigner-only casino GGR grew 21.5% year on year in 2025, overall industry GGR increased by only 4.3%, highlighting that South Korea’s gambling market remains primarily supported by domestic demand,
Total casino visitation increased 12.3% year over year to just over 5.97 million in 2025 from nearly 5.32 million in 2024. The figure represents 97.5% of the 6.13 million visits recorded in 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Looking ahead, recent market analysis suggests a H2 2026 increase in Chinese group travel could provide a further boost to casino revenues. At the same time, the sector is facing regulatory headwinds.
Casino operators have raised concerns over government proposals to increase the maximum contribution rate to the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund, warning that higher levies could reduce profitability and limit investment in facilities and customer experience.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is reviewing amendments that would raise the maximum levy on foreigner-only casino operators from 10% to 15% of sales.
*This story was updated on 31 July to correct statistics that had been misinterpreted.
Korean casino operators recently pushed for a broader regulatory reform to strengthen competitiveness before the Osaka resort opens
