"Did Dad Go Again?" After One Visit... Casino Overindulgence Among Seniors Raises Red Flags
50.1% of Frequent Visitors Are Aged 60 or Older
"Elderly Patrons' Protection Should Be Top Priority"
This year, one out of every two “frequent users” of the Kangwon Land Casino was found to be in their 60s or older, prompting calls for urgent protective measures for senior citizens.
On October 5, Assemblyman Cha Kyu-geun, a member of the National Assembly’s Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee from the National Innovation Party, revealed data submitted by Kangwon Land. According to the data, between January 1 and September 15 of this year, out of a total of 349,289 unique visitors to the casino, 87,533 (25.1%) were aged 60 or older. "Unique visitors" refers to individuals, regardless of the number of times they visit.
During the same period, there were 12,586 patrons who visited the casino 30 or more days; among them, as many as 6,304 were in their 60s or older, accounting for 50.1%. Of the 2,437 people who visited 60 or more days, 1,172 (48.1%) were in this age group. In terms of habitual attendance by age, 7.2% of all visitors aged 60 or older visited for 30 days or more, three times higher than the 2.4% for those under 60.
Senior citizens also stood out in the total number of "aggregate visits," which counts every entry regardless of whether it is the same person. The number of aggregate visits by those aged 60 or older increased by 36.6%, from 711,659 in 2022 to an estimated 972,440 in 2025.
The proportion of people aged 60 or older out of all aggregate visits also rose steadily: 34.2% in 2022, 34.7% in 2023, 37.4% in 2024, and a projected 39.2% in 2025. As of September 15 this year, the proportion had already reached 41.5% (718,568 visits).
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These figures illustrate the vulnerability of the elderly to gambling addiction within the casino industry. Assemblyman Cha stressed, “The proportion of older adults among long-term and repeat casino visitors is overwhelmingly high and increasing rapidly,” adding, “Kangwon Land must make the protection of senior patrons a top priority over casino profits by promptly strengthening tailored prevention measures, such as regular reviews of frequent visitation patterns and providing access to professional counseling services.”
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