Foreigner-only South Korean gaming operator Grand Korea Leisure Co. Ltd. (GKL) reported a casino sales figure of KRW397.35 billion ($303.8 million) for the year 2023. This marked an increase of 49.8 percent compared to the preceding year, as stated in a filing with the Korea Exchange on Wednesday.
Table-game revenues reached approximately KRW360.3 billion ($275 million), demonstrating a 50.8 percent surge from the previous year. Concurrently, machine-game sales increased by 41.3 percent compared to 2022, surpassing KRW37.1 billion ($28 million).
The total “drop” for the company, representing the money customers spent on purchasing gaming chips for both table games and slots, reached slightly over KRW3.39 trillion ($2.6 billion) last year. This marked a substantial 70.8 percent increase compared to the previous year, as reported in the company’s filing.
GKL operates three casinos under the Seven Luck brand, with one in Busan and two in Seoul.
In December, GKL casino revenues experienced a month-on-month increase of 25.3 percent, reaching KRW34.95 billion ($26.7 million). This latest monthly figure reflected a growth of 14.4 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.
According to the information updated on the company’s website regarding visitor data, GKL’s casinos received a total of 789,825 players in 2023, over 360,000 of which were Chinese players, occupying the number one spot as the source market.
Japanese players took second place, with 223,526 visitors last year.
In the whole year of 2023, GKL recorded a total of 123,650 VIP players.
