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Two of South Korea's major foreign-only casino operators reported an increase in casino revenue in the first month of 2020. Foreign-only casino operator Paradise's casino revenue in January rose 28.3 percent year-on-year, while market rival Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) saw a 57.2 percent increase in casino sales.
Paradise Corp said Tuesday its casino sales in January were close to 72 billion won ($60.63 million).
The group's table sales for the month were 68.09 billion won from 52.12 billion won a year earlier, up 30.6% from a year earlier. However, its slot machine sales in January fell 1.7% year-on-year to 3.91 billion won.
The company's monthly update does not provide a comment on why sales fluctuated year-over-year.
Paradise Co.'s latest casino figures are based on the results of four venues operating as part of its casino business division. Walkerhill in Seoul, Jeju Grand on Jeju Island, Busan Casino in Busan's southern port city, and Paradise City in Incheon are near major international airports serving the Korean capital of Seoul.
On Tuesday, GKL reported casino sales of 54.58 billion won in January. Table sales for the period were 49.01 billion won, up 63.7% from a year earlier, while machinery sales were 5.57 billion won, up 16.9% from a year earlier.
GKL is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Korea. The casino operator, under the Seven Luck brand, runs three foreigner-only casinos in Korea, two in the capital city of Seoul and one in the southern port city of Busan.
However, the announced restrictions regarding efforts to stem the spread of the newly identified coronavirus could negatively impact casino revenue performance. The two operators have banned Chinese package travel groups from entering venues since late January, industry sources confirmed to GGRA on Tuesday. The source of the new coronavirus-related infection is believed to have been Wuhan, Hubei province in China.
South Korea has reported 16 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Tuesday. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced Sunday that South Korea will ban all foreigners who have been to China's Hubei province in the past two weeks from entering the country. The restrictions have been in effect since Tuesday and last for an unspecified period of time until the disease rate drops.
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