Grand Korea Leisure Co (GKL), the South Korean operator of foreigner-only casinos, saw its sales surge by 114.7 percent month-on-month in August.
Figures reached approximately KRW41.28 billion ($30.8 million), according to a filing with the Korea Exchange on Monday. This represents a 23.6 percent increase compared to the same month last year.
Table-game sales for the month amounted to KRW38.10 billion ($28.4 million), reflecting a 130 percent increase from July and a 26.2 percent rise year-on-year. Machine-game sales were reported at nearly KRW3.18 billion ($2.4 million), showing a 19.4 percent improvement over the previous month but remaining nearly unchanged from the same period last year.
In August, GKL also declared an interim dividend, its first since the 2019 financial year, just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the first eight months of 2024, GKL’s total casino sales reached KRW253.97 billion ($189.0 million), marking a 7.1 percent decline year-on-year. Cumulative table game sales for the period through August 31st totaled KRW229.95 billion ($171.0 million), down 7.2 percent from the previous year. Total machine-game sales stood at KRW23.12 billion ($17.2 million), reflecting a 6.8 percent decrease compared to the first eight months of 2023.
The total “drop” amount—representing the money exchanged by customers for gaming chips—was nearly KRW330.84 billion ($246.0 million) in August, showing an 8.9 percent increase from July and a 12.8 percent rise compared to August 2023. The drop amount for the January to August period reached KRW2.49 trillion ($1.85 billion), reflecting a 17 percent increase year-on-year.
GKL operates three Seven Luck-branded casinos exclusively for foreign visitors, with two located in Seoul, including the Gangnam area, and one in the southeastern port city of Busan. The company did not provide any specific reasons for the changes in its sales figures.
As a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, GKL plays a significant role in the country’s tourism sector.
