The casino industry in Jeju is on high alert after the Chinese government issued a public warning regarding the activities of unauthorized recruiters who attract Chinese tourists to foreign-only casinos in the region.
China enforces some of the world's most stringent criminal penalties for recruiting its citizens for overseas gambling. The incident is reigniting memories of a past case where domestic casino employees were mass-arrested by Chinese authorities and detained for over eight months.
According to the Consulate General of China in Jeju and the casino industry on the 31st, the Consulate released a statement on the 27th—distributed to local Jeju media and posted on its official website on the 28th—expressing strong opposition to illegal casino recruitment targeting Chinese tourists.
The Consulate explained that it has received reports and complaints about so-called 'illegal brokers' (黑中介) using private messages on Chinese social media platforms to lure Chinese tourists to Jeju casinos.
It further warned that China maintains a 'zero-tolerance' policy toward gambling, noting that even if an overseas casino operates legally in its home country, systematically recruiting Chinese citizens for gambling can constitute a violation of Chinese law.
They have demanded that relevant Korean authorities strengthen oversight of casino operations and eradicate illegal gambling recruitment activities targeting Chinese tourists.
Given that a diplomatic mission has publicly challenged the recruitment practices of a specific tourism sector, there is growing concern that this warning could escalate beyond a simple tourist advisory into a broader diplomatic and tourism issue.
■ 2015 Mass Arrest of Korean Casino Employees: Over 8 Months of Detention
This is not the first time the Chinese government has cracked down on overseas casino recruitment.
A representative case occurred in June 2015, involving the mass arrest of marketing staff from domestic foreign-only casino operators in China.
At the time, Chinese public security officials arrested a large group of marketing employees from Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) and Paradise in cities including Beijing and Shanghai.
According to media reports, 14 employees were arrested in total—8 from GKL and 6 from Paradise.
Although these employees were performing tasks such as assisting Chinese VIP clients with visa issuance, flight bookings, and travel convenience, Chinese authorities initiated investigations on charges of illegal overseas gambling solicitation.
The incident went beyond a simple investigation.
In November of that same year, Newsis reported that 13 employees remained in detention six months after their arrest, with no trial date even scheduled.
In January 2016, follow-up reports revealed that they had been held in local detention centers for eight months.
The mass arrest and long-term detention of foreign marketing staff for recruiting clients to legally operated overseas casinos became a landmark case in the international casino industry.
Previously, in December 2013 and January 2014, four other domestic casino employees were arrested and investigated in China for similar activities, and in August 2015, reports emerged that three more employees from a Jeju casino had been apprehended.
As China’s aggressive crackdowns continued, the domestic casino industry was effectively forced to halt or drastically reduce direct VIP recruitment activities in mainland China.
Domestic casinos, which relied heavily on Chinese VIPs for revenue, faced the dual hardship of shrinking marketing channels and declining customer numbers.
■ China Strengthens Penalties: Up to 10 Years for Gambling Solicitation
The Chinese government has significantly toughened its regulations regarding overseas gambling recruitment compared to the past.
In 2020, China amended its Criminal Law to introduce specific provisions punishing the organized recruitment of its citizens for overseas gambling.
Under Article 303, Paragraph 3 of the Chinese Criminal Law, which took effect in 2021, those who systematically organize Chinese citizens for overseas gambling involving large sums can face up to five years in prison or detention, along with fines.
In serious cases, the penalty can escalate to between five and ten years of imprisonment plus fines.
Crucially, Chinese authorities have defined the act of overseas casino operators, managers, and recruiters systematically attracting Chinese citizens and profiting from commissions as a target for prosecution.
This means that even if a Korean casino employee, a local Chinese recruiter, or a third-party broker systematically recruits Chinese nationals for overseas casinos, they can be prosecuted if Chinese criminal jurisdiction is established.
It is highly unusual for a country to strictly regulate the recruitment of clients to legal foreign casinos under its own criminal law and to detain foreign employees for such extended periods.
On the 6th, Yonhap News reported that concerns were raised about whether client contact activities during overseas business trips to Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore by GKL staff might violate Chinese criminal law.
GKL clarified that these activities were for managing existing clients and providing support, not for recruiting new ones, and emphasized that they have not conducted any marketing-related business trips to mainland China since the 2015 incident.
■ Jeju Casino Junkets and Unqualified Brokers Under Scrutiny
The Chinese Consulate General's warning highlights the urgent need to re-examine the customer recruitment structure of the Jeju casino industry.
Foreign-only casinos utilize professional recruitment agencies and agents to secure overseas VIP clients. These entities provide airfare, accommodation, and transportation, and are often paid commissions based on recruitment performance or gaming volume.
The problem lies in the potential for intermediary brokers, whose identities and business practices are opaque, to intervene in the recruitment process, unlike officially contracted professional agencies.
In particular, the practice of approaching customers via Chinese social media and inviting them to visit casinos through private messages is a prime target for Chinese authorities' crackdowns.
However, the Consulate has not disclosed the identities of the involved companies or recruiters, nor their contractual relationships with specific casinos. It remains to be verified whether they are official agents of the casinos or unauthorized rogue brokers.
Illegal casino recruitment cases have been uncovered in Jeju before.
In June 2016, Jeju police arrested the head and staff of a travel agency for facilitating prostitution for Chinese casino clients.
Police investigations at the time revealed that they had posted recruitment advertisements on Chinese websites and social media, offering sexual favors based on the amount of casino chips exchanged.
This case demonstrates how combining casino recruitment with illegal services can undermine the credibility of the entire tourism industry.
■ 1.9 Million Chinese Tourists: A Burden on Jeju’s Tourism Industry
According to the Chinese Consulate General, approximately 1.9 million tourists from the Greater China region, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, visited Jeju last year.
As the Greater China market accounts for a significant portion of Jeju's tourism industry, there are concerns that conflicts surrounding illegal casino recruitment could negatively impact the attraction of general tourists as well.
In particular, China is targeting not only overseas casino recruitment but also the overseas gambling and illegal capital flight of its citizens.
If the line between tourism and gambling solicitation becomes blurred during the recruitment process, or if illegal financial transactions are involved, the situation could become even more complex.
Furthermore, the Jeju casino industry is currently in need of trust recovery following a recent fraudulent gambling incident involving Chinese tourists.
On the 21st, the Jeju provincial government announced it is considering a three-month business suspension for a casino involved in a fraud case using 'marked cards' against Chinese tourists.
Six casino personnel were referred to the prosecution in this case, with criminal proceeds estimated at around 100 million KRW.
While a direct link between the Chinese Consulate's warning and this specific incident has not been confirmed, the protection of Chinese tourists and the transparency of casino operations are emerging as consecutive critical issues.
■ Jeju Province and Casino Industry: Urgent Need for Recruitment Audits
The Chinese Consulate's public warning serves as a catalyst for calls for proactive measures from the Jeju provincial government and the casino industry.
First, there are voices calling for an audit of the current status of professional recruitment agencies contracted with casinos in the region, their actual business practices, the use of intermediary brokers, and commission structures.
In particular, there is a need to review the extent of a casino's management responsibility when a recruiter—even one not directly employed by the casino—supplies clients and receives commissions.
Given that Chinese authorities have set a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for overseas gambling recruitment, the legal risks faced by domestic casino companies and recruiters are substantial.
The 2015 mass arrest of Korean casino employees showed that even legitimate recruitment activities for foreign casinos can lead to criminal charges and long-term detention in China.
Now, 11 years later in 2026, the Chinese Consulate General has again publicly raised the issue of Chinese client recruitment in Jeju casinos.
Whether the Jeju casino industry is neglecting the activities of illegal brokers in its pursuit of competitive client acquisition requires a thorough investigation by Jeju Province and relevant authorities.
While expanding the number of Chinese tourists is important, experts point out that establishing a legal and transparent business order must come first.