Gambling and casinos in North Korea - a closed industry under state control

North Korea is one of the most closed states in the world, where the economy, information space and everyday life are completely subordinate to state control.

Gambling, like most forms of private business, is prohibited for citizens of the DPRK, but is allowed for foreigners - exclusively under the supervision of the authorities and in order to attract foreign currency.

This dual system makes the gambling sphere in North Korea unique and politically motivated: domestically, excitement is pursued, but export is welcome.

Legislation and attitude of the state

Gambling in the DPRK is prohibited by law.

According to the North Korean Criminal Code, any form of gambling is considered "anti-socialist behavior," punishable by imprisonment and can be interpreted as a criminal offense against the state.

However, the state itself controls a small number of gambling zones for foreigners operating under ministries related to security and foreign trade.

This approach allows you to combine ideological rigor within the country and pragmatic foreign exchange income from the outside.

Casinos and gambling areas for foreigners

1. Casino Pyongyang (Yanggakdo International Hotel)

North Korea's most famous casino is located in Pyongyang, at the Yanggakdo International Hotel, built in the 1990s by a Chinese company.

The casino works only for foreigners - mainly Chinese, Russian businessmen and diplomats.

Features:

owners - the Chinese company Emperor Group (Hong Kong), operating through a joint venture;
personnel partly Chinese, partly North Korean;
currency - yuan and US dollars;
access for DPRK citizens is strictly prohibited.

Players can use machines, roulette and board games, but all halls are under video surveillance of special services.

2. Casino Rason (Rason Special Economic Zone)

The second known site is the Rason International Hotel Casino, located in the Rason Special Economic Zone, near the border with China and Russia.

This region is designed for foreign economic transactions and allows limited forms of capitalism.

The casino is aimed at Chinese tourists from Jilin Province and is operated by a private company under the control of the DPRK Ministry of People's Security.

Works with Chinese yuan;

Games - baccarat, roulette, slots;
The activity is officially classified as a "tourist service."

Rason is the only region of the DPRK where the use of foreign currency in free form is allowed.

Online gambling and cyber activity

Officially, online gambling is prohibited in the DPRK, but the country has been repeatedly mentioned in international investigations related to the activities of hacker groups involved in illegal financial transactions.

According to UN and US cyber intelligence reports, North Korean IT companies and groups associated with the Lazarus Group participated in:

development of offshore online casinos and betting sites for foreign operators (under foreign jurisdictions);
laundering cryptocurrency proceeds through gambling platforms;
cyberattacks on payment systems and crypto exchanges, including using game accounts and smart contracts.

Thus, the state uses online gambling as an instrument of external income and foreign exchange flows, while such actions are strictly punishable within the country.

Citizen participation and control

North Korean citizens are prohibited from gambling of any type, including:

lotteries and betting;
card games for money;
participation in casinos or offshore platforms.

For violation:

arrest and "re-education" (labour camps);
confiscation of property;
a possible charge of "ideological decay."

However, according to the testimony of defectors, illegal gaming clubs serving local traders and mid-level officials operate in border areas with China (for example, in Jeongjin and Hyesan).

They function under the patronage of local state security structures, which levy a "tax" on profits.

Currency aspect and policy objective

For Pyongyang, gambling is not entertainment but a tool for regime survival.

With casino and cyber operations, the country:

attracts foreign currency (yuan, dollars, euros);
provides revenue for intelligence agencies and party structures;
forms channels to circumvent international sanctions;
develops IT exports under the guise of entertainment platforms.

According to research centers (for example, Center for Strategic and International Studies, USA), the DPRK's annual income from offshore IT gambling projects may be $100-200 million.

International reaction and sanctions

The UN, US and EU have repeatedly imposed sanctions on North Korean companies linked to gambling cyber activity.

In particular, in 2022, firms registered in Hong Kong and Singapore, through which the DPRK:

provided IT services for online casinos;
engaged in the development of gambling and smart contracts on crypto platforms;
carried out cross-border "proxy programming" under Chinese brands.

Prospects

North Korea has no plans to legalize gambling for the domestic population.

However, you can expect:

further expansion of tourist casinos for foreigners;
development of offshore cyber operations under the control of special services;
using crypto platforms and NFT projects to circumvent sanctions;
cooperation with Chinese and Russian operators within the Rason and Pyongyang zones.

North Korea is a unique and paradoxical case in the global gambling industry.

For their own people, excitement is a crime, for foreigners - a source of state income, and for special services - a financial instrument in the shadow of sanctions.

The gambling sector of the DPRK is not an entertainment industry, but part of the state survival strategy, combining foreign exchange operations, tourism and cyber finance.

Thus, the "excitement" in North Korea does not exist in a casino, but in an economic game against the world, where every casino is a political project classified as "secret."