S. Korea’s GKL May casino sales decline 3pct

Jun 10, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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South Korean gaming operator Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL) posted a year-on-year decline in casino sales for May, the firm announced on Friday. The company reported casino sales of KRW39.43 billion (US$33.3 million) for that month, down 2.9 percent from the prior-year period.

Judged month-on-month, May casino sales remained flat compared to April.

The year-on-year decline in casino sales was due to a 5.1-percent decrease in table game sales during the month of May, to nearly KRW33.76 billion. Machine game sales recorded an increase of 13.3 percent year-on-year, to approximately KRW5.67 billion, the firm said in a filing to the Korea Exchange.

GKL’s May results contrast with the latest sales reported by market rival Paradise Co Ltd. The latter company said on Tuesday that its casino revenue rose by 18.5 percent year-on-year in May, to more than KRW61.43 billion.

GKL is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which in turn is affiliated to South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The casino operating entity 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.

The company said casino sales for the first five months of 2019 fell by 7.4 percent year-on-year, to approximately KRW187.04 billion.

Table game sales for the period were down 8.6 percent to about KRW162.50 billion, while machine game sales stayed flat at KRW24.53 billion.

GKL said last month that its first-quarter net income halved to just under KRW8.46 billion. The firm stated first-quarter sales slipped by 10.5 percent year on-year.

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