Casino revenue at Paradise Co Ltd, an operator in South Korea of foreigner-only gaming venues, decreased by 32.4 percent month-on-month in July, according to a Wednesday filing by the company to the Korea Exchange.
Such revenue was approximately KRW63.51 billion (US$49.10 million), compared to KRW94.00 billion in June. Judged year-on-year, the result was up 137.0 percent, from KRW26.80 billion in July 2022.
Last month’s table games revenue decreased by 33.5 percent sequentially, to just under KRW59.66 billion. The figure was up 145.0 percent from the prior-year period.
Paradise Co’s July machine game revenue was down 9.7 percent month-on-month but 56.9 percent higher from a year ago, at KRW3.85 billion.
The company’s table drop – the amount of cash exchanged for chips by customers at the table – reached KRW529.86 billion for July, down 0.6 percent sequentially but up by 125.0 percent from a year ago.
Paradise Co’s latest casino figures are based on the results of four venues it operates in its casino business division. They are: Walkerhill in Seoul; Jeju Grand on Jeju Island; Busan Casino in the southern port city of Busan; and Paradise City, in Incheon, near the main international airport serving the country’s capital Seoul.
No commentary on the reasons for revenue fluctuations is given in the company’s monthly updates.
Paradise Co’s aggregate casino revenue in the first seven months of 2023 stood at nearly KRW414.37 billion, up 224.3 percent from a year earlier.
Table drop for the calendar year to July 31 was nearly KRW3.37 trillion, a rise of 245.5 percent year-on-year.
Rival foreigner-only casino operator Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL) saw casino sales in July increase by 5.3 percent month-on-month, to nearly KRW31.13 billion, the company said in a Wednesday filing to the Korea Exchange. The latest monthly tally was up 8.8 percent from the prior-year period.
During July, table-game sales were approximately KRW27. 8 billion, up 4.8 percent sequentially and up 6.5 percent from a year ago. Machine-game sales were KRW3.33 billion, up 10.3 percent month-on-month and 32.1-percent higher than a year earlier.
The company gave no commentary on the reasons for the changes.
Grand Korea Leisure’s casino sales for the first seven months this year totalled KRW239.16 billion, an increase of 93.9 percent from the prior-year period.
The company’s cumulative drop reached nearly KRW1.84 trillion for the first seven months of 2023, up by 120.4 percent year-on-year, according to the firm’s filing. For July, the casino firm’s drop amounted to KRW246.19 billion, up by 56.1 percent from a year ago, but down 2.4 percent from the previous month.
Grand Korea Leisure runs three foreigner-only, Seven Luck-branded, casinos. Two are in the capital Seoul, including in Gangnam, and one in the southeastern port city of Busan. The company is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which in turn is affiliated to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
