Grand Korea Leisure casino sales down 1.5% in October

Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) has reported a 1.5 per cent decline in casino sales month-on-month, from KRW9.42bn to KRW9.27bn.

South Korea.- The South Korean operator of foreigner-only casinos Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) has reported that casino sales in October were down 1.5 per cent from KRW9.42bn to KRW9.27bn and down 16.5 per cent year-on-year.

Table games revenue was down 3.2 per cent month-on-month, from KRW7.92bn to KRW7.67bn, and down 16.2 per cent year-on-year. Machine game sales were up 7.2 per cent month-on-month from KRW1.50bn to KRW1.60bn but down 17.8 per cent year-on-year.

The casino operator has registered KRW75.35bn in casino sales for the first ten months of the year, down 58.3 per cent year-on-year. GKL expects authorities to ease most restrictions by 2022.

In September, casino sales were up 7 per cent when compared to the previous month, from KRW8.80bn (US$7.6m) to KRW9.42bn (US$7.96m).

Proposal for South Korean foreigner-only casinos to offer remote gambling

South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos have been hit hard due to the lack of tourists amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Lee Sang-heon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea on the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, has suggested they should be allowed to introduce online gambling services.

According to the Korea Casino Association, South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos recorded aggregate gambling sales of KRW178.29bn (US$151.3m) during the first half of the year. In 2020, the figure was KRW597.8bn, down 60 per cent year-on-year when compared to 2019 when the industry collected a total of KRW1.45tn.