A recent increase in Chinese foreign national visitors to the Republic of Korea is forecast to inflate local casino revenues over the second half of the year, according to an analytical report by Shinhan Securities.
Aside from Kangwon Land in the nation’s Gangwon Province, South Korea maintains a strictly controlled foreigner-only casino regime, meaning that inbound tourism figures – particularly from Chinese visitors – have the potential to drastically affect casino revenues.
Indeed, the launch of Korea’s temporary visa-free program for Chinese group tourists last September was intended to help boost visitation statistics from overseas and led to a 25% year-over-year increase in visitation between January and May 2026 to 2.56 million people. Now, the forecast for a further increase could spell the potential of a lucrative second half of the year for the nation’s casino sector.
Commenting on the report, Shinhan analyst Ji In-hae stated: “Inbound indicators such as arrivals, foreign spending and foreigner-only casino earnings are now numerically confirming what the market is feeling as an inbound boom. The full China-facing positioning of Korea’s foreigner-only casinos remains valid.”
Last week, Inspire Entertainment Resort hosted a large-scale event with 250+ tourism industry professionals to help strengthen partnerships within the nation’s travel industry, as part of a broader push to improve South Korea’s tourism economy overall.
Elsewhere, the nation also launched an AI-powered youth gambling prevention initiative, closely following the announcement that the Korea Communication Standards Authority would allow Polymarket to present its views before determining the platform’s legality in the market.
Despite a monthly decline between May and June, Korea’s tourism surge is already driving record casino profits this calendar year
