G3-247 Report SOUTH KOREA
The Paradise Group is the biggest operator with five casinos and Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) has three casi- nos.
With five casinos the Paradise Group has a 51 per cent market share in South Korea. Grand Korea Leisure fol- lows with 38 per cent share whilst other operators have a 10 per cent share between them.
In the fourth quarter of 2013 the Paradise group saw total sales of ₩177bn of which the casinos took ₩147bn. This was a 61 per cent increase on 2012 figures for the same period for the casino division.
of ₩547bn. Casino drop for the GKL company was ₩3.9tr of which ₩3.5tr came from table and ₩393.1bn from slots.
As a comparison the GKL saw 4Q2013 casino sales of ₩133bn whilst the other operators saw total sales of ₩35bn. For the year 2013 as a total the Paradise casino division saw sales of ₩695bn and GKL saw total sales
The other operators saw total sales in 2013 of ₩133bn with Kangwon Land with ₩1.2tr. Total casino sales across the market were ₩2.7tr in 2013.
Drop in total for 2013 was ₩6,210bn divided between
VIPs from China with ₩1,072bn, VIP Japan with ₩313bn, VIP others with ₩215bn and Mass ₩133bn.
Of the 17 casinos – 16 fall under the Tourism Protection Act which require a passport entry and prohibit Koreans, Vietnamese and Nepalese to enter. The players to these casinos mainly include junket players from Japan and China and some Koreans who have access to a foreign passport.
TABLE DROP AND NET REVENUE FOR PARADISE CASINO GROUP CASINO
TABLE DROP 4Q2013
WALKER HILL JEJU GRAND INCHEON BUSAN
JEJU LOTTE TOTAL
The Korean National Gambling Control Commission (NGCC) lists illegal sports betting as a $6.67bn business.
Korean TV personality Kim Yong-man stepped down from his TV position last year following a police investi- gation into his online sports betting activities. He was given an eight month suspended sentence. He had wagered ₩1.3bn on two online betting sites between 2008 and 2011.
Fines for illegal gambling can be up to ₩5m for those found playing and up to ₩20m and up to three years imprisonment for those operating.
It is said the number of illegal gambling websites in Korea has increased 25 fold in the last four years.
W874bn W174bn W287bn W209bn W189bn W1.7tr
TABLE DROP TOTAL 2013
W2.9tr
W682bn W1.0tr
W791bn W714bn W6.2tr
THE CASINO SECTOR South Korea was quite the trailblazer in terms of casino
liberalisation. The first casino was opened in Incheon by the Paradise Casino in 1967 just three years after Stanley Ho’s monopoly began in Macau.
The second casino from this group was the Sheraton Walker Hill in Seoul in 1968. After this nothing much happened for the next 20 years until the 1990s saw six casinos open.
Since then the market has blossomed with a total of 17 casinos now open. There are eight casinos in Jeju-do island, three in Seoul, three in Kyongju, two in Incheon and two in Busan whilst Jeongseongun, Pusan, Pyeong Chang gun and Sokch’o city each have one casino.
W112bn W13bn W22bn W18bn W12bn
W166bn
NET REVENUE 4Q2013
NET REVENUE TOTAL 2013
W425bn W56bn W89bn W76bn W50bn
W697bn
Sales for the foreign only casinos grew in the decade from 2000 to 2010 to ₩1tr. Some say this could be dou- bled if the market opened to domestic players.
Some say without domestic players the market will be stifled of growth. South Korea is not high on the list of tourism destinations. It is freezing in winter and very humid in summer. If Japan legalises casinos it could see many of its players relocate.
Kangwon Land is a big example of the domestic demand for gaming. Kangwon Land Casino was established in 1998 and opened in 2000 with the casino and hotel fol- lowed later by the golf course, ski and condos and more hotel and convention centre.
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