Kangwon Land, the only South Korean casino at which locals are permitted to gamble, has reported net profit of KRW73.8 billion (US$56.2 million) for the three months to 30 September 2023, down 1.3% year-on-year and 19.4% quarter-on-quarter.
The Q3 result was on the back of 5.9% year-on-year decline in sales to KRW374.0 billion (US$285 million), although this was up 12.9% sequentially. Gaming sales for the quarter fell 6.8% year-on-year to KRW320.1 billion (US$244 million) while non-gaming was down by 0.4% to KRW53.9 billion (US$41.0 million).
With gross gaming revenue down by 7.7% year-on-year to KRW349.5 billion (US$266 million), all gaming segments suffered declines including a 28.9% fall in Membership Club (VIP) revenue to KRW42.1 billion (US$32.1 million). Mass table GGR fell by 2.9% to KRW165.8 billion (US$126 million) and slot machines by 5.0% to KRW141.6 billion (US$108 million).
In a recent note, investment bank JP Morgan observed the slower than expected recovery of Kangwon Land post-COVID, with demand having flat-lined for three consecutive quarters and little signs of a turnaround even a year after reopening.
Analysts DS Kim and Shi Mufan Shi attributed this slowdown to the proliferation of illegal and grey-market gambling such as cash play at “Hold’em” pubs as well as online casinos.
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