South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is examining allegations that Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL) may have overstated the number of visitors recorded at its three Seven Luck casinos during 2025.

The investigation centers on customers who entered without GKL membership cards. Company figures reportedly counted 1,117,165 visits last year, including 721,817 recorded through membership cards and 395,348 attributed to non-member visitors using passports.

The number of uncarded visitors has drawn scrutiny because their share of total reported visits has grown over recent years. They accounted for 25.2% of visits in 2023 and 32.0% in 2024 before reaching 35.4% in 2025.

According to reports based on internal allegations and company data, concerns were raised over whether the passport-based figures accurately represented actual casino visitors. A complaint about the counting practices at Seven Luck was submitted to South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection, which carried out an onsite investigation in June before referring the matter to the tourism ministry.

The ministry has requested information from GKL and is currently checking the facts.

Scrutiny Falls on Passport-Based Entries

The issue has gained attention because GKL’s anti-money laundering guidelines place restrictions on customers who do not hold membership cards. Those visitors cannot purchase for play, exchange chips for cash or checks, or use currency exchange services.

The allegations suggest that passport-based entries may have been reported in significantly higher numbers when GKL submitted its visitor data to the ministry.

Visitor figures have a wider significance for the company because authorities use them as a quantitative measure when assessing institutional management performance. GKL received a “C” grade in the 2025 Public Institution Management Evaluation, while President Yoon Doo-hyun received an “unsatisfactory” assessment for his performance in fulfilling management contracts as an institution head.

GKL has said that the allegations remain unproven.

As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, a GKL official told Yonhap News Agency, “We are currently actively cooperating with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s request for data.

“Allegations of ‘fictitious counting’ or ‘visitor inflating’ are not confirmed facts.”

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism confirmed that it was verifying the information. A ministry representative said, “We are currently verifying the facts and will take necessary measures depending on the results. We plan to utilize all available methods to ascertain the facts.”

The investigation follows a separate internal development in which GKL’s reported target visitation rate declined after concerns about the figures emerged. The rate stood at 91.6% in June, dropped to 69.1% in July and moved into the low 60% range in August.

Three Casinos Operate Under Seven Luck

GKL runs its foreigner-only casino business through the Seven Luck brand. Its properties include the Gangnam COEX casino in Seoul, Seoul Dragon City and Busan Lotte in Busan.

The operator has a majority government shareholder. The Korea Tourism Organization, a state-owned body operating under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, owns 51% of GKL. The other 49% belongs to public investors, including institutional and retail shareholders.

The investigation covers visitor reporting across the company’s three casinos.

The reported 2025 total included 395,348 visits attributed to people who entered without membership cards. GKL recorded these entries separately from the 721,817 visits associated with members.

The company’s recent financial developments have occurred alongside the investigation. In August, GKL indicated that it would pay an interim dividend after reporting higher second-quarter net income. It also renewed the lease for its Gangnam casino.