Kangwon Land, the sole casino in South Korea that isn’t foreigner-only, reported gross gaming revenue of KRW344.4 billion in the three months to 31 March 2025, down 0.5% year-on-year although up 3.3% compared with the December 2024 quarter.
The slight year-on-year decline was experienced in the mass gaming segment, with mass table GGR down 0.5% to KRW160.4 billion and slot machine revenue down 2.0% to KRW135.3 billion. VIP Membership Club GGR grew by 4.2% to KRW48.7 billion.
Despite seeing GGR fall year-on-year, drop amount actually increased by 5.5% to KRW1.45 trillion and casino visitors by 2.7% to 621,035. The number of international visitors was up by 16.2% to 6,725.
Non-gaming sales fell by 5.7% to KRW49.0 billion, mainly on lower golf revenue.
Kangwon Land announced in September that it will invest US$1.9 billion into a major expansion of its resort, which is a popular skiing destination in winter. The expansion will include a US$128 million investment into a second casino site which it said will “create a more enjoyable gaming environment by addressing the issue of overcrowding in [the] existing casino.”
The new casino facility is planned to cover 16,161 square meters and be located across multiple floors of the High1 Grand Hotel Main Tower, incorporating new VIP rooms with helicopters utilized to fly in both Korean and international visitors, while a sky bridge will link the casino to the nearby High1 Ski and Golf Resort.
Last week the company held an investor day in which it further outlined plans to transform its existing High1 resort area into a global wellness and sports resort – part of its efforts to enhance its international tourism appeal.