GGRAsia – S. Korea’s Paradise Co casino sales dip 16 pct in Nov

S. Korea’s Paradise Co casino sales dip 16 pct in Nov

Dec 04, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Casino sales at South Korean casino operator Paradise Co Ltd fell 16.0 percent year-on-year in November. Judged month-on-month, the decline was 24.8 percent, said a filing to the Korea Exchange on Friday.

Such sales amounted to approximately KRW50.48 billion (US$43.6 million) in November, compared to nearly KRW67.13 billion in October. In November 2014, casino sales for the group were KRW60.09 billion

Table game sales accounted for nearly 93 percent of the group’s total casino sales in November, at approximately KRW46.81 billion. Table sales fell 26.9 percent month-on-month and 18.3 percent year-on-year.

But gaming machine sales rose 17.8 percent sequentially in November, to nearly KRW3.67 billion. The tally was a 31.8 percent improvement from the equivalent month in 2014.

For the 11 months to November 30, the group’s total casino sales were down 13.8 percent year-on-year, to KRW528.40 billion. In the prior-year period the tally was KRW612.67 billion.

Paradise Co operates a network of five foreigners-only casinos located in three major cities in South Korea and on the country’s holiday island of Jeju.

A number of investment analysts have highlighted that 16 out of South Korea’s 17 casinos are limited to serving foreigners only, pointing out that mainland Chinese players are a key target market for the foreigners-only venues.

In October, Reuters news agency reported – quoting China’s state television – that mainland Chinese police had arrested 13 foreigners and several Chinese agents inside China for activities related to recruitment of Chinese citizens for the purposes of gambling in South Korean casinos.

In August, mainland China news outlet China News Service reported that China’s Ministry of Public Security had started an operation called “Chain Break” – said to be aimed at disrupting foreign casinos’ access to money flows from China and those casinos’ links to individuals that scout for gamblers from China.