South Korea sees casino revenue fall

Revenue at South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos slumped by 5.37 % in 2017 to less than KRW1.21 trillion (US$1.09 billion). In announcing the annual turnover for last year, the National Gambling Control Commission said the country’s 16 foreigner-only casinos had almost 2.22 million visitors in 2017, a decrease of 6.22 percent between 2016 and last year.

The data at the regulator’s website was updated this week and reports all gaming activities in the country. The foreigner-only casinos contributed 5.56 percent of all gaming turnover in South Korea last year, which was about KRW21.73 trillion.

The fall in 2017 revenue at foreigner-only casinos follows a mixed trend. In 2016, revenue at the country’s foreigner-only casinos was KRW1.28 trillion, an increase of 2.6 % compared to 2015. After consecutive years of growth, 2015 saw a year-on-year decline of 9.7 %.

Meanwhile, the Kangwon Land Inc casino, which allows local players, contributed 7.01 % to gaming turnover. Its own income fell 6.43 % to US$1.36 billion, while visitors amounted to 3.12 million, a 1.7 % drop from last year.

However, the most recent financial updates show that the casino industry is doing better, as Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd reported casino sales of nearly US$36.5 million for May, an increase of 16.7 per cent from last year. Paradise Co Ltd, another operator, saw a 25.2 per cent year-on-year increase last mon, telling the Korea Exchange its casino revenue for May was about US$46.78 million compared to about US$37.37 million in the same month last year.

Source: FocusGamingNews