South Korean foreigner-only casino operator Grand Korea Leisure has reported a 46.7% year-on-year decline and 48.9% sequential monthly decline in casino revenue to KRW7.57 billion (US$6.6 million) in July.
The July result, GKL’s lowest monthly revenue figure since March, reflected a similar decline reported earlier this week for fellow foreigner-only casino operator Paradise Co, which saw its revenue fall 56.3% month-on-month to KRW6.95 billion (US$6.0 million).
Both operators have felt the impact of yet another surge in COVID-19 cases across Korea, with a 7-day average of 1,720 cases including 1,725 on Wednesday. Worryingly, authorities had just a day earlier confirmed the nation’s first two cases of Delta Plus – a newer strain of the highly contagious Delta variant.
GKL, which briefly closed its two Seoul casinos, Gangnam COEX and Gangbuk Millenium Seoul Hilton, in mid-July, reported a 54.1% sequential fall in table game revenue to KRW6.09 billion (US$5.3 million) and a 4.1% fall in EGM revenue to KRW1.48 billion (US$1.3 million) for the month.
Total drop fell 30.4% on a monthly basis and 32.8% year-on-year to KRW68.48 billion (US$59.9 million). For the first seven months of 2021 combined, drop is down 66.0% to KRW366.67 billion (US$320.6 million).