Kangwon Land imposing new ‘cooling off’ measures on problem gamblers

South Korea’s Kangwon Land casino is pledging to impose new restrictions to lessen potential harms facing problem gamblers.

On Tuesday, Kangwon Land CEO Ham Seung-huie told the country’s National Assembly that the casino would introduce a “cooling-off” program early next year that will ban entry for suspected problem gamblers for up to three months.

The announcement comes two months after South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection said Kangwon Land’s owner High1 Resort wasn’t doing enough to mitigate problem gambling behavior.

Kangwon Land is under particular scrutiny as it is the only one of South Korea’s 17 casinos that allows local residents to gamble. It is also the country’s most profitable casino, generating earnings of KRW 338b ($303.4m) on revenue of KRW 848b last year.