South Korean foreigner-only casino operators Paradise Co and Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) saw their casino revenues decline in October, although both appeared to play unlucky during the month based on turnover comparisons.
Paradise, which operates Incheon integrated resort Paradise City plus casinos in Seoul, Busan and Jeju, reported on Thursday casino revenue of KRW61.0 billion (US$45.6 million), down 17.3% compared with September although 1.2% higher year-on-year. However, turnover for the month was down just 5.1% sequentially to KRW538.5 billion (US$403 million).
AT GKL, which operates three casinos in Seoul and Busan, casino revenue fell by 14.0% month-on-month and 17.7% versus October 2022 to KRW28.6 billion (US$21.4 million), with table revenue of KRW25.5 billion (US$19.1 million) and machine revenue of KRW3.11 billion (US$2.3 million). But turnover for the month actually improved slightly on September to KRW310.8 billion (US$232 million).
For the first 10 months of 2023 combined, Paradise casino revenues have risen by 137% year-on-year to KRW625.5 billion (US$468 million) and GKL revenues by 62% to KRW334.5 billion (US$250 million).
As recently reported by IAG, Korea’s foreigner-only casino operators are expected to benefit in the months ahead from the resumption of Chinese group tours and the subsequent return of mass market players, based on comments from NH Investment & Securities analyst Hazell Lee.
