South Korean foreigner-only casino operator Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) says it anticipates the loss in casino sales as a result of ongoing casino closures to reach KRW42.78 billion (US$38 million).
The estimate comes after GKL on Friday again extended the current closure period of its two Seoul casinos, Gangnam COEX and Gangbuk, Millenium Seoul Hilton, for another two weeks until 15 March 2021. The extension means both casinos will have been closed for at least three months.
The Greater Seoul region remains under COVID-19 alert level 2 as authorities look to get on top of an outbreak that emerged late last year. Casinos outside of the Greater Seoul region were permitted to reopen as of mid-February when areas outside of Seoul saw their Alert Level drop from level 2 to level 1.5.
South Korea began rolling out its vaccination program over the weekend, with 20,322 people vaccinated with the Pfizer jab over the first two days of vaccinations. There were 356 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the country on Sunday.