South Korean casino operator Paradise Co Ltd was back in the black in 2016 following a troubled 2015.
Figures released this week to the Korea Exchange show Paradise’s casino revenue hitting KRW 603.1b (US $509m) in the 12 months ending December 31, 2016. The figure is 6.2% higher than 2015’s total, which was down 14.7% from 2014.
Paradise, the country’s largest foreigners-only casino operator, said the 2016 numbers were goosed by a 7.2% rise in table game revenue to KRW 567.7b, which helped offset a disappointing showing by its electronic gaming machines, which fell 7.3% to KRW 36b. Paradise operates four of the country’s 17 small casinos.
The 2015 total was depressed by a number of factors beyond Paradise’s control, including an infectious disease outbreak that scared off international travelers and Chinese authorities arresting a number of Paradise’s marketing staff for promoting gambling activity to Chinese citizens.
But Paradise closed out 2016 on a high note, with casino revenue rising 10.3% to KRW 43.7b in the month of December. The good fortune was telegraphed a few months earlier, when Paradise reported its first year-on-year growth in Chinese VIP revenue in two years.
2017 is shaping up to be a transformational year for Paradise, given that April will bring the launch of South Korea’s first major integrated resort, Paradise City, near Incheon’s international airport. Paradise City, which broke ground in November 2014, is a co-venture with Japanese pachinko operator Sega Sammy Holdings.
Paradise City will rise or fall in large part based on how many Chinese gamblers the property can attract. The 2015 arrests of Paradise’s marketing staff were followed last year by Beijing’s arrests of 18 employees of Australian casino operator Crown Resorts, and while latest reports have some Asian casino operators resuming their mainland marketing activity, only Beijing knows what Beijing will do in future.
Indonesia’s Lippo Group, which had partnered with US casino operator Caesars Entertainment on a separate Incheon integrated resort project, isn’t convinced Beijing’s other shoe has dropped. This week, Lippo told its shareholders that it was still negotiating its exit from the joint venture, which it claimed was no longer viable due to the “current outlook for the gaming industry in North Asia.”
