“Illegal gambling at Hold’em pubs will be punished”… Amendment to the Tourism Promotion Act passed [National Assembly audience]

Amendment to the Tourism Promotion Act passed in the plenary session of the National Assembly
Grounds for punishment of illegal gambling in hold’em pubs established
“Resolving the issue of fairness of punishment with other gambling industries”
Lee Yong-ho: “We will increase the effectiveness of cracking down on illegal hold’em pubs.”

Recently, as ‘Hold’em pubs’ have become popular mainly in university areas and downtown areas, illegal cash transactions such as currency exchange and gift certificate exchange within Hold’em pubs are rapidly spreading. Meanwhile, attention is focused on the establishment of a legal basis for punishing casino-related activities, such as illegal gambling in hold'em pubs, which have been in the blind spot of legislation.

At a plenary session on the afternoon of February 1, the National Assembly passed a bill to partially amend the ‘Tourism Promotion Act’, which defines ‘casino business-like activities’ and establishes the basis for sanctions for casino business-like activities, with 209 present, 207 in favor, and 2 abstentions. There are predictions that this revision will have the effect of eradicating illegal gambling in hold’em pubs.

‘Hold’em Pub’ is a compound word of Hold’em (a type of card game played with a dealer) and Pub, and refers to a place that charges an admission fee, provides a gaming location and chips, and sells alcohol. Recently, as ‘anomalous hold’em pubs’, which engage in illegal gambling by exchanging cash for chips, playing the game, and then cashing out again, have become prevalent, many have pointed out that crackdown and regulation are urgent. The National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency conducted an intensive crackdown on illegal gambling at Hold'em pubs from August to December last year, detecting 1,004 people and arresting 8 of them. According to related industries, it is estimated that there are currently about 3,000 hold’em pubs operating nationwide.

The main content of this amendment is to establish a new definition of ‘casino business-like activities’ and prohibit them. The amendment defines casino-like activities as ‘an act that causes property profits or losses to users by providing services that fall under the category of casino business under the Tourism Promotion Act for profit by a person other than a casino operator.’ With this new definition, illegal gambling in hold’em pubs is considered a ‘casino business-like activity’ and is included in the prohibited activities under the Tourism Promotion Act.

The current Tourism Promotion Act does not provide a ban on activities similar to the casino business, so there is a limitation that illegal gambling in hold'em pubs can only be punished for gambling or opening a gambling place under the criminal law. According to the revision of the law, anyone who engages in similar activities in the casino business will be subject to imprisonment for up to 7 years or a fine of up to 70 million won. This is higher than the level of punishment stipulated for the crime of opening a gambling place under the Criminal Act, which is imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Jo Seong-geun, a criminal specialist at Daeryun Law Firm, said, “Under the current law, similar activities such as horse racing and horse racing, which are classified as gambling industries along with the casino business, are punished with imprisonment for up to 7 years or a fine of up to 70 million won. However, in the case of hold’em pubs, there has been criticism that the level of punishment is relatively low because the crime of opening a gambling house is applied under the criminal law.” He added, “Through this legislation, the issue of fairness of punishment with other gambling industries is expected to be resolved.”

In addition, with the passage of this amendment, similar activities in the casino industry will be subject to surveillance by the Gambling Industry Integrated Supervision Committee (Compliance Committee). Reporters can receive a reward of up to 50 million won. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism expressed expectations that the effectiveness of crackdowns will be increased by activating internal reporting and reporting due to the nature of illegal gambling in hold'em pubs, which has been difficult to detect.

People Power Party lawmaker Lee Yong-ho, who proposed the amendment, said, “The significance of the passage of this amendment is to bring illegal hold’em pubs, which are in the blind spot of the law, within the scope of the law,” and added, “We expect that the establishment of clear regulations on casino-like activities will increase the effectiveness of cracking down on illegal hold’em pubs.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized the seriousness of the spread of illegal activities in Hold'em pubs and formed a 'Special Task Force (TF) to respond to illegal activities in Hold'em pubs' in July of last year in collaboration with the House Audit Committee, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, National Police Agency, and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and prepared measures to eradicate illegal activities. In addition to revising the Tourism Promotion Act, the special task force is conducting a nationwide survey of hold'em pub operations, strengthening crackdowns on illegal activities in hold'em pubs, and designating hold'em pubs as harmful businesses for youth.

Kim Geun-ho, director of tourism industry policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “We expect that this revision of the Tourism Promotion Act will allow us to effectively crack down on illegal cash transactions that occur in hold’em pubs, etc.” Lee Jin-sik, Secretary General of the House Audit Committee, emphasized, “The passage of this amendment will be an important clue to eradicating illegal gambling in Hold’em pubs,” and added, “Related ministries will continue to cooperate to respond strongly to illegal activities in Hold’em pubs.”

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