Court orders casino to return money to gambling loser

SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul appellate court on Wednesday ordered a local
casino to return some of the money that a habitual gambler had lost for years
because the casino failed to fulfill its obligation to protect clients from
addiction.
A 63-year-old businessman, known only by his family name Jeong, lost 23.1 billion
won (US$20.6 million) in Kangwon Land Casino, the only gambling resort which
admits South Korean nationals, in a period of three and a half years between 2003
and 2006.
Jeong, who formerly ran a small business, filed a lawsuit, insisting that the
Kangwon casino failed to take sufficient measures to prevent him from betting
beyond the legal limits.
Earlier this year, a lower court ruled that the casino has to give 2.84 billion
won to Jeong, setting the casino's liability at 20 percent.
The Seoul High Court upheld the ruling on Wednesday, ordering the casino to
return 2.1 billion won to Jeong.
"Kangwon Land turned a blind eye to Jeong, who had even hired agents to bet for
him to avoid the gambling limits," the court said in a verdict.
"The casino company also violated rules on daily entrance limits for Jeong."
However, the appellate court said the casino is only 15 percent responsible for
the loss, saying Jeong should have known the risk of gambling.