Majority of gambling addicts want to be banned from casinos: report

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- Nearly half of the people banned from South Korea's
major casino are self-acknowledged gambling addicts who asked that they not be
admitted to help them kick the habit, a report said Tuesday.

Among the 2,385 gamblers who were prohibited from entering the Kangwon Land
casino between January and the end of July this year, 1,059 or 44 percent, sought
such a self-imposed ban, according to the casino's report to a ruling party
lawmaker. Another 23 percent were asked by their families to be prohibited from
gambling.

Kangwon Land, located in a remote former coal mining area in Gangwon Province, is
often dubbed South Korea's Las Vegas and is the only place where locals are
permitted to gamble.

Foreigners, meanwhile, are permitted at several exclusive
casinos in South Korea, three of which are located in the capital Seoul.
Situated next to luxury hotels, a golf course and ski resort, Kangwon Land
recorded one trillion won (US$87 million) in profits last year alone with some
three million visitors.
It has been a subject of much criticism, and is cited as the cause of rising
gambling addictions since it first opened in 2000, with more than 25 people
committing suicide near the area after losing large sums of money.
More than 6 percent of Korean adults are believed to be gambling addicts,
according to recent government data, with crimes by gamblers such as homicide,
robbery and burglary also on the rise.