Reports question Grand Korea Leisure marketing after 2015 cases

Yonhap News Agency reported that Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) sent marketing staff and executives to Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore and Mongolia in recent years to “manage clients,” actions that could, if confirmed, breach Chinese law. Yonhap cites an anonymous source claiming GKL employees met existing clients for meals and bought gifts while conducting those visits; GKL denied the allegations in a statement: “We do not undertake local sales activities such as direct solicitation of visits to casinos or recruiting new customers. Our operations focus on responding to inquiries and requests from existing customers, gathering feedback and providing support for travel to Korea and general customer service.”

Details on the allegations of Grand Korea Leisure marketing

At the core of Yonhap’s report is the claim that GKL staff travel went beyond relationship management and could amount to solicitation of Chinese players for gambling outside China. The source told Yonhap that “over the last three years, GKL has consistently sent employees to places such as Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore and Mongolia to meet local customers in person. Despite the 2015 incident when employees were arrested in China for recruiting local customers, the company does not properly manage the legal risks associated with marketing abroad.”

The source draws a distinction between two types of activity: on the one hand, visits to tour facilities or meet authorities for benchmarking; on the other, direct meetings with customers intended to encourage visits to casinos. The source added: “There is a fundamental difference between touring facilities for benchmarking or meeting local officials and meeting directly with customers to solicit visits to the casino. In the latter case a thorough pre‑review is required to ensure compliance with both local laws and Chinese law.”

Legal context: how Chinese law penalises organising cross‑border gambling

China tightened its legal stance after the 2015 and 2016 cases. In December 2020 the Criminal Law Amendment (XI) inserted article 303(3), which penalises anyone who organises Chinese citizens to participate in gambling abroad when the amounts involved are substantial or other serious circumstances exist. Penalties range from detention and fines to imprisonment of five to ten years in serious cases.

The provision applies regardless of the organiser’s nationality: both Chinese citizens and foreigners can be prosecuted if they organise Chinese citizens’ participation in cross‑border gambling, and the scope covers both in‑person casino gambling abroad and online gambling targeted at Chinese people.

Echoes of 2015 and 2016: precedents that frame the compliance risk

The published allegations recall the 2015 arrests, when Chinese authorities detained 14 South Korean employees of GKL and Paradise Co for recruiting Chinese citizens to gamble in Korea. Employees of Chinese travel agencies were also arrested in that operation, which formed part of a broader crackdown on foreign casinos marketing their products inside mainland China. In October 2016 a similar episode saw 19 Crown Resorts employees arrested; later investigations in 2020 and 2021 showed Crown discussed the Korea arrests as a warning that went unheeded.

GKL has maintained that, since the 2015 incident, it has not conducted business trips related to marketing in China. The company says its international visits are for servicing existing customers and operational support.

Reputational and operational impact: investigations and recent figures

Beyond concerns about international marketing activities, GKL faces a separate domestic probe. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea reportedly opened inquiries in 2026 over alleged irregularities in the 2025 visitor reporting, with suspicions that GKL may have inflated figures to improve management evaluations.

Commercially, Grand Korea Leisure operates three casinos in Seoul and Busan under the Seven Luck brand and reported total casino revenues of KRW227.2 billion (US$148 million) in the six months to 30 June 2026, an 8.2% year‑on‑year increase.

What this means for operators and regulators in the region

Yonhap’s allegations reopen questions about legal risk management when a foreign operator interacts with customers in sensitive markets. The practical lesson for regulators and operators is clear: international marketing activities require prior legal checks and cross‑border compliance policies that map applicable laws in each jurisdiction and in China.

For firms seeking to avoid risky travel, common measures include:

• legal reviews before authorising business trips that include customer meetings;

• protocols for recording and justifying travel expenses;

• limits on incentive offers to international customers;

• specific training for executives on the extraterritorial reach of certain laws.

Reactions and expected next steps

Yonhap and the internal source stress that the visits cited — including trips by GKL’s head of marketing to Hong Kong and Macao earlier this year — warrant deeper inquiry to determine whether solicitation occurred. GKL reiterates that its actions are limited to servicing existing customers and logistical support.

How the case develops will depend on public scrutiny and, if appropriate, actions by Chinese authorities or administrative investigations by South Korean agencies. The episode places cross‑border compliance back at the centre of risk management for foreign operators serving Chinese customers.

“We do not undertake local sales activities such as direct solicitation of visits to casinos or recruiting new customers,” Grand Korea Leisure said in response to the allegations, maintaining that the activities were customer support.

“Despite the 2015 incident... the company is unable to properly manage the legal risks,” the source quoted by Yonhap said, according to the transcript published.

For sector coverage of regulatory evolution and commercial implications, this case will be on the radar of operators and suppliers in Asia; developments will have implications for marketing practices, compliance and for relationships with travel agencies in China and the Special Administrative Regions. Consult our notes on regulatory matters in the regulation section for ongoing analysis and the sector’s latest updates in news.