Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) reported a 19.8 percent rebound in September casino sales from August, supported by a higher hold ratio despite a decline in casino drop.
Casino sales reached KRW37.28 billion ($27.7 million), up 7.2 percent year-on-year, according to an October 2nd filing with the Korea Exchange. Drop totaled KRW323.72 billion ($241.0 million), down 5.2 percent from August but up 2.4 percent from a year earlier.
Supplementary operating data showed that the group’s hold ratio increased to 11.5 percent from 9.1 percent in August and 11.0 percent a year earlier. The improvement meant GKL retained a larger share of drop as casino revenue.
The sequential recovery was concentrated at Seoul Gangnam, where casino sales rose 44.6 percent to KRW17.95 billion ($13.4 million). The property accounted for approximately 90 percent of the group’s month-on-month sales increase, based on calculations using GKL’s figures.
Gangnam’s drop fell 2.0 percent from August, while its hold ratio increased from 6.3 percent to 9.3 percent. Seoul Dragon City and Busan Lotte recorded smaller sequential increases in casino sales.
Across the group, September table-game sales rose 8.4 percent year-on-year to KRW34.01 billion ($25.3 million), while machine-game sales declined 4.5 percent to KRW3.27 billion ($2.4 million).
Third-quarter growth remains modest
Despite September’s recovery, third-quarter casino sales increased just 1.1 percent year-on-year to KRW110.07 billion ($81.9 million), falling 8.7 percent from the second quarter.
Quarterly drop rose 1.7 percent from a year earlier to KRW990.28 billion ($737.1 million), but declined 6.0 percent sequentially. Hold stood at 11.1 percent, compared with 11.2 percent in the third quarter of 2025 and 11.4 percent in the preceding quarter.
Japanese and Chinese VIP players supported the quarterly drop performance. Japanese VIP table drop increased 18.7 percent year-on-year, while Chinese VIP drop rose 16.3 percent, more than offsetting a 24.9 percent decline from other VIP markets.
Overall VIP table drop increased 3.0 percent year-on-year, while mass-market table drop edged down 0.8 percent. Japanese and Chinese VIP drop also grew in September, rising 22.5 percent and 14.0 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.
For the first nine months of 2026, GKL’s casino sales reached KRW337.24 billion ($251.0 million), up 5.8 percent year-on-year, while drop increased 9.5 percent.
GKL operates three foreigner-only casinos under the Seven Luck brand, with two in Seoul and one in Busan.
