Korea’s government-run foreigners-only casino operator, Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), saw casino sales jump 21.8% year-on-year in August, led by a strong performance from table games.
Casino sales reached KRW50.7 billion (US$45.3 million) for the month, representing an increase of 37.4% over July’s numbers as the Korean IR industry continues its recent recovery from the Chinese tourism plunge that followed the THAAD missile dispute in 2017.
Table games led the way for GKL, with sales growing 26.8% year-on-year to KRW46.0 billion (US$41.1 million) – making amends for a 12.0% decline in electronic gaming machine sales to KRW4.7 billion.
For the first eight months of the year combined, GKL’s sales increased 1.9% on 2017 levels to KRW326.4 billion (US$291.5 million).
GKL, a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, operates two casinos in Seoul and one in Busan under its Seven Luck brand.