South Korea’s casino operators are protesting their ineligibility for a government bailout of retail businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it would provide KRW100b (US$79m) in emergency loans from its Tourism Promotion Fund to businesses whose operations had suffered as tourist traffic dried up following the coronavirus outbreak.

However, casinos were ruled ineligible to draw upon these loans, despite (a) their businesses having been dealt a significant blow from the evaporation of international tourist traffic, and (b) casinos contributing more than one-fifth of the funds from which these loans were being made available.

All but one of South Korea’s 17 casinos are forbidden from allowing local residents to access their gaming floors, meaning they rely entirely on foreign passport holders. With numerous Asia-Pacific countries and airlines imposing travel restrictions, operators have seen their business dwindle to virtually nothing.