South Korea’s Local and Foreigner-Only Casinos Report Revenue Decline in Q2

Summary:

• Two South Korean casino operators have reported a drop in revenue in Q2
• GKL’s net income was down 60.3%, while Kangwon Land’s revenue also fell by 11.9%
• Both operators did not specify the reasons for the fall in gaming revenue

The second quarter of 2023 did not fare well for some casino operators in South Korea as they report a drop in quarterly revenue. Among them is Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL) which saw its earnings fall by 60.3% in the three months to June 30. The same goes for the state-run Kangwon Land casino whose revenue also dipped by nearly 12% quarter-on-quarter.

GKL’s Q2 Profits Down 60.3% from Q1

GKL operates three casinos in South Korea under the Seven Luck brand, two of them are located in Seoul, while the other is in Busan. The venues are open only to foreign customers. From April to June 2023, gaming profit across the three casinos stood at KRW8.58 billion (US$6.5 million) and while that represents a 7.6% increase year-on-year, the figure is down 60.3% from the KRW21.60 billion recorded in Q1.

Q2 sales for GKL fell by 8.2% sequentially to KRW100.23 billion. Table games accounted for KRW90.62 billion (a drop of 8.6% from the previous quarter), with slots sales up 17.5% to KRW9.87 billion.

Total casino drop covering both table games and slot machines stood at KRW836.01 billion for the second quarter of the year, up 10.9% sequentially.

But that wasn’t enough to keep up with the casino operator’s strong performance in the past quarter. GKL, which is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, did not provide further details about the reason for the Q2 revenue decline.

Kangwon Land Also Suffers Revenue Drop for Q2

Meanwhile, Kangwon Land, which runs the only casino in South Korea that accepts local customers, was also not spared from the downward trend, as the operator’s net income suffered an 11.9% quarter-on-quarter drop.

Kangwon Land generated KRW89.48 billion in profits for the second quarter of 2023. That’s compared to the KRW101.54 billion it recorded in Q1. Overall sales were down 7.5% sequentially to KRW331.13 billion, though that translates to a 6.3% increase compared to Q2 of 2022.

Mass-table casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) at the venue for Q2 dropped 5.5% to KRW158.3 billion, with its membership club also posting KRW158.3 billion in GGR, a 12.5% decline from the first quarter. GGR generated by slot machines also dropped by 2.5% sequentially to KRW135.2 billion. Total casino drop from April to June this year stood at almost KRW1.42 trillion, down 5.4% from Q1.