Mohegan Gaming's Inspire Resort to Launch the First Foreigners Only Casino in Korea in 19 Years

• On 24 January, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment announced that it has received the final approval to open a foreigners-only casino at its Inspire resort complex in Incheon, South Korea.

• This will become the first new foreigners-only casino in Korea in 19 years. Currently, there are 17 foreigners-only casinos in Korea.

• The opening of the Inspire Resort in Incheon, Korea will likely have a negative impact on the foreigners only casino operators in Korea including Paradise Co Ltd (034230 KS).

Inspire Resort Plans to Launch Foreigners Only Casino in 1Q24

On 24 January, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE) announced that it has received the final approval to open a foreigners-only casino at its Inspire resort complex in Incheon, South Korea in 1Q 2024. This will become the first new foreigners-only casino in Korea in 19 years. Currently, there are 17 foreigners-only casinos in Korea. This casino will open inside Mohegan's brand new mega integrated resort called Inspire Entertainment Resort (Inspire Resort) in Yeongjong Island which is located a few minutes from Incheon International Airport.

Mohegan invested $2.8 billion to build Inspire Resort in the past seven years which includes a casino, a five star hotel with 1,275 rooms, a 15,000-seat concert and sports arena, banquet halls, restaurants and a shopping mall. Inspire Resort already started to operate its hotels and the arena in late 2023. Mohegan is aiming to attract nearly 0.35 million visitors to the Inspire Resort each year.

The Inspire Resort was originally scheduled to open in 2021 but due to COVID-19, the initial opening was delayed by more than two years. MGE plans to invest a total of $5 billion in the Inspire Resort over a multiple investment phases. Nearly $2.8 billion has already been invested in Inspire Resort. To put this in comparison, Paradise Co Ltd (034230 KS)'s Paradise City resort casino (330,000 square-meter, phase I of development) resort was built at a price tag of nearly US$1.1 billion. The Inspire Resort is the first major overseas casino & resort for the MGE group.

Mohegan's Inspire Resort in Incheon, Korea (Source: Inspire Resort, Youtube)

The Making of Inspire Resort in Incheon, Korea (Source: Inspire Resort, Youtube)

A local's visit to Inspire Resort (Source: Youtube)

Impact on Paradise, Grand Korea Leisure, and Lotte Tour Development