South Korea casino aims to score with soccer star

Reuters – South Korean casino operator Paradise Co has hired Jose Mourinho, the outspoken manager of English football giants Chelsea, as the face of its new advertising campaign to lure punters from China, where the sport is increasingly popular. Paradise is teaming up with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc to build a $1.7 billion casino resort in the coastal city of Incheon, near the country’s main international airport, with construction to be completed in 2017. It faces steep competition from operators like Genting Singapore PLC and Caesars Entertainment Corp, which are moving to build their own tourist-focused resorts in South…

Chinese Company Acquires 28% of South Korean Online Gambling Firm

China’s biggest listed internet company, Tencent, has announced that it is to acquire a 28% stake in South Korean online gambling and mobile gaming firm CJ Games for $500 million (€363.2 million). Under the agreement, Tencent said that it would acquire a mixture of existing and newly issued common stock, making it the third-largest investor in CJ Games after Bang JH and CJ E&M Corp. The Chinese company said the deal would allow it to expand its online and mobile gaming business and grow its presence overseas. In addition, CJ Games will be able to establish a foothold in the…

Could South Korea Be a Winning Bet?

The Motley Fool – With gaming growth in Macau and hopes for Japan later this year, gamblers and investors alike are wondering which countries will also follow suit and ramp up their gaming industries. Because the country wants to support cultural development and it already has a head start with its leisure and gaming industry, South Korea might become yet another high-profit growth region for gaming in South East Asia. Since the South Korean government decided to allow large-scale casinos in the country two years ago, only one company has successfully won a bid to build there. Genting, the operator…