It appears that the illegal gambling crackdown is having its desired effect:
Slot machine revenue on U.S. installations in South Korea has dropped by millions of dollars since rules to prevent illegal gambling were introduced in January.
But despite the downturn in one of the big funding sources for the peninsula’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation system, officials say users won’t see a drop in services.
Revenue for February through April, the first three-month average under the current enforcement measures, was $8.48 million, according to figures Stars and Stripes obtained over the past two months from MWR and Installation Management Command-Korea and the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. The amount is a 49 percent drop in the average three-month gross revenue of $16.75 million in fiscal 2007.
In fiscal year 2007, South Korea’s Army and Air Force gaming machines took in $67 million of the program’s $113 million gross revenue from bases in Europe and the Pacific. South Korean installations had 623 fewer machines than in Europe — where off-post gambling is more readily available — but still took in nearly $40 million more than Europe. [Stars & Stripes]
This crackdown has probably put a cramp in the lifestyle of all the Ms. Kim’s out there making a fortune off of this scam. So when is someone going to take on the golf course scam?
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7:26 am on July 7th, 2008 1
I can’t speak to Osan, but Seongnam has a very strict set of rules for both memberships and t-times. Basically, if a GI shows up and wants to play, he/she is given priority and will bump a Korean, a US contractor, or a GS guy right out of the way, and that’s the way it should be imo.
7:36 am on July 7th, 2008 2
That’s not the case I’ve ever seen at Osan. I admittedly try to go really early to the Osan course, but I have never seen any Service Members get a Tee-Time ahead of a Korean who was already there.
But I don’t care. Leave the Golf Course scam alone. If the koreans were not playing on the courses (legal or not), the courses couldn’t afford to stay open and neither contractors (such as myself) or Service Members would be able to afford to play golf in Korea.
8:49 am on July 7th, 2008 3
Gents Koreans playing on the golf courses doesn’t bother me as much as the people being paid to sign Koreans on to post to play on the USFK golf courses. That is the scam I would like to seen ended.
8:50 am on July 7th, 2008 4
Well yea I seen two “boss cars” with drivers and the car kept running (for the air conditioner) parked in the handicap spots while the passengers are golfing…tell me those golfers work at OSAN or any US facility
But yea you know the big Black Market crack down at Long a couple of years ago caused the Long PX to lose so much money it closed….yea right services would not be taken away
9:42 am on July 7th, 2008 5
Y’all missed the real story.
“But despite the downturn in one of the big funding sources for the peninsula’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation system, officials say users won’t see a drop in services.”
O.K. So. Where the funk was all that extra money going back when it was coming in?
9:57 am on July 7th, 2008 6
The original story dealt with a service member killing himself after accumulating debt. The congressman wanted to shutdown gambling on base. What did checking ID’s accomplish? A lower revenue? It was foreign money coming in and service members can still accumulate debt. I don’t see the effectiveness.
Chickenhead is right to point out this inconsistency. If we’re fine with the current revenue, what should have been accomplished with the other 8 mil?
I hate to say this, but I might have to agree with a street cop’s POV. Allow a little, controlled crime to exist so that the big stuff can be caught. Yeah, I’ve been watching, “The Shield.”
This side vice stuff on the golf course or in the slot-machines is petty and benefits the base. How about going after the corruption in the KGS hiring system/union or even the kickback game at Contracting Command? THAT has little to no benefit at all.
1:45 pm on July 7th, 2008 7
#6
Because when you start cherry picking the crimes you enforce you set a precedent and ultimately lose credibility. (i.e., Korean National Police)
1:59 pm on July 7th, 2008 8
Well Chicken my point was just like at Camp Long, when a crack down occurs to the point of great loss of revenues…Services will disappear although MWR says services will not be affected.
2:52 pm on July 7th, 2008 9
I consider the Ms. Kim’s of Korea making millions off the gambling scam to be worthy of a crackdown. Why should Ms. Kim become a millionaire off the gambling scam while soldiers working hard in the motorpool will never see that much money probably in their entire life time?
2:57 pm on July 7th, 2008 10
By the way Chickenhead good point but maybe MWR just layed off some people to make up for the loss of funds. It always appeared to me in Korea that there was two people employed to do the job that one person can do. In other words we shouldn’t just automatically assume any corruption was going on.
3:13 pm on July 7th, 2008 11
GI,
Heh heh heh…
“we shouldn’t just automatically assume any corruption was going on.”
Quite the contrary. In USFK, especially where big, semi-accounted-for money is involved, corruption is the norm and not some rare exception.
Look at ANY aspect of USFK life from contracting… to on-limits clubs… to ox tails… to housing… to golf… to substandard services for servicemembers… to gambling before the “crackdown” to etc… and please tell me there is an explanation other than corruption which more clearly explains what we see.
I’m listening.
USFK leadership isn’t that stupid… they are just intentionally ignorant of the situations which haven’t yet “come to light” or they are involved.
3:16 pm on July 7th, 2008 12
Crackus #7, Tell that to any commander that can choose to pursue or not any crime. Checking ID’s IS cherry picking. The base/USFK commanders choose not to pursue the hard stuff. Just speculation, but they may get a taste. *wink wink*
It’s smoke and mirrors. Fine, Ms. Kim married to Mr. Smith can’t get a cut anymore from off-base Ajumma, boo hoo. Problem is still there. Checking ID’s still does not solve the problem of GI’s collecting debt. If someone has a vice, there will always be someone to satisfy it. If we’re going to stop this nonsense, then let’s tell Joe, from the motorpool, that he’s got to give up his vices because he just can’t be trusted:
No Gambling (a choice an adult makes, while off-duty)
No Drinking (let’s be consistent)
No Smoking (Because you’re not adult enough to know better)
No Porn (My morals are better than your morals)
No Going Off-base (Because you might cause an incident)
This will solve gambling addiction, alcohol abuse, health problems, self-flagellation, and any off-post incidents. Let’s just stop treating them like adults and holding them accountable.
3:36 pm on July 7th, 2008 13
To me a 49% drop means that more than ID card holders are still playing the slots. Total enforcement of the polciy should cause at least a 75% drop in gross revenue.
I still don’t understand the logic behind taking one individuals money through gambling so that another individual can benefit through less expensive golf/bowling fees etc.
11:30 am on July 8th, 2008 14
As usual…
…nobody can give reasonable explainations all the odd and shady-looking stuff that is openly going on around USFK.
Hmmm.
The term “Bunch of Limp Dinks” comes to mind.