South Korean foreigner-only gaming operators Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL) and Lotte Tour Development experienced a 19.7 percent month-on-month sales decrease in April.
GKL net sales in April compared to the previous month, amounted to just under KRW32.43 billion ($24 million). This represents a 28.9 percent decline in sales compared to April 2023.
GKL is a foreigner-only casino operator in South Korea, which is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, itself affiliated with South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.
In April, GKL’s table game sales reached slightly over KRW29.42 billion ($21 million), marking a 21.2 percent decrease from the previous month and a 30.3 percent decline from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, machine game sales remained relatively stable compared to the previous month, totaling just under KRW3.01 billion ($2.2 million), reflecting a 1.8 percent decline from March. Year-on-year, machine game sales for April decreased by 11.1 percent.
In the first four months of 2024, total sales amounted to nearly KRW126.10 billion (92 million), marking a 17.7 percent decrease compared to the previous year. No explanation was provided for this decline.
In April, the casino’s table drop, representing the amount exchanged for chips, remained steady at KRW319.43 billion ($232 million) compared to March but showed a 7.8 percent increase from April 2023.
The cumulative casino drop for the first four months of this year reached nearly KRW1.24 trillion ($901 million), reflecting a 17.6 percent rise compared to the same period last year.
Lotte Tour
In April, Lotte Tour Development, operator of Jeju Dream Tower casino resort on South Korea’s Jeju Island and also a foreigner-only casino, disclosed a decrease of 8.1 percent in casino sales compared to the previous month, amounting to nearly KRW20.39 billion ($15 million). However, when compared to the same period last year, casino sales surged by 104.8 percent.
During April, Jeju Dream Tower’s hotel sales reached just under KRW7.49 billion ($5.4 million), marking a 36.5 percent increase from March and an 8.2 percent improvement from the previous year.
Table game sales reached almost KRW19.52 billion ($14 million) in April, marking a 7.7 percent decrease compared to the previous month but showing a significant increase of 114.6 percent compared to the same period last year.
The performance of machine games amounted to KRW873 million ($630,000), reflecting a 16.7 percent decrease from March but a modest increase of 1.4 percent year-on-year.
Cumulative casino sales for January to April totaled nearly KRW90.4 billion ($66 million), representing a strong 243.5 percent year-on-year increase.
Lotte Tour’s casino table drop for April stood at KRW128.31 billion ($93 million), up by 5.2 percent from March and demonstrating a notable rise of 32.6 percent year-on-year.
