Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp wants to build an integrated resort and casino in South Korea, according to George Tanasijevich, Sands’ managing director of global development.
The firm hopes to follow a similar business model to its Singapore resort Marina Bay Sands which allows local residents to gamble with certain restrictions.
Under current legislation, only one of South Korea’s 17 licensed casinos allows locals to gamble.
The South Korean government has been looking to relax gambling laws although moves toward a wholesale legalization of gambling is unlikely due to strong public opposition due to fears of gaming addiction.
"It is important that Korean people understand that we are not proposing a totally ‘open’ casino but are proposing an integrated resort based on the Singapore model, which effectively bans locals who are deemed vulnerable, and has measures to ensure locals who want to play do so responsibly," Tanasijevich said.
"A casino that allows local residents would be a necessary element for our business model, in the scale of the investment that we are proposing to make and the magnitude of the property that we would look to develop in the market," he added.
Tanasijevich said Las Vegas Sands Corp has filed a proposal for "a truly iconic building" in Jamsil, the site of the 1988 Olympic Games main stadium.
The proposal includes the rebuilding and relocation of a baseball stadium currently on the site and the land would be used to construct a large-scale integrated resort and convention facility.
