Monthly casino sales soared year-on-year in November at South Korea’s foreigner-only operators Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd and Paradise Co Ltd, according to respective filings to the Korea Exchange on Friday.
Grand Korea Leisure saw such sales up 589.1 percent over the same month in 2021. Paradise Co reported a 300.8 percent rise.
Neither firm gave commentary on the reasons, though the improvement coincides with reports of increased numbers of foreign visitors to the country, as Covid-19 restrictions have been eased.
Grand Korea Leisure reported nearly KRW28.20 billion (US$21.7 million) in November casino revenue. But judged month-on-month, casino sales at Grand Korea Leisure were actually down 19.0 percent on those achieved in October.
Paradise Co recorded nearly KRW39.57 billion in November casino revenue. But it saw a sequential monthly decline of 14.9 percent.
Table game sales at Grand Korea Leisure were down 20.8 percent month-on-month, at KRW25.58 billion. Machine game sales rose 4.5 percent sequentially, at KRW2.61 billion.
The latest result took Grand Korea Leisure’s total casino sales for calendar year to November 30, to KRW234.62 billion, up 195.3 percent year-on-year.
The firm’s casino ‘drop’ – the amount paid by customers to purchase chips – was down 2.0 percent month-on-month in November, at KRW256.05 billion. Judged for the calendar year to November 30, such drop was up 160.6 percent, at nearly KRW1.74 trillion.
Grand Korea Leisure runs three foreigner-only casinos in South Korea under the Seven Luck brand: two in the capital Seoul, and one in the southern port city of Busan.
Grand Korea Leisure is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which in turn is affiliated to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
At Paradise Co, table game sales for November were KRW35.88 billion, or 16.8 percent down on October. Machine game sales were just under KRW3.69 billion, an increase of 8.4 percent month-on-month.
Table drop at Paradise Co was down 11.1 percent month-on-month in November, at KRW367.07 billion. For the calendar year to November 30, the firm’s table drop was up 55.8 percent, at KRW2.41 trillion.
The figures are based on Paradise Co’s casino business division, consisting of Walkerhill in Seoul, its Jeju property, Paradise City (pictured) at Incheon, and its Busan casino.
