Grand Korea Leisure's May casino sales down 15.3% monthly
South Korea’s foreigner-only casino operator, Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL), has reported an increase in casino sales for May. According to its latest filing with the Korea Exchange, the operator posted KRW30.64 billion ($22.3 million) in casino sales for the month, down 15.3 percent from KRW29.47 billion in May 2024. The figure is up 4 percent year-on-year.
For the month, slot machines and electronic gaming devices brought in nearly KRW3.53 billion, a 24.1 percent increase from the same period last year. On a sequential basis, machine games also performed well, logging a 6.3 percent rise compared to April. Despite being the company’s main revenue source, revenue from table games showed a minimal rise of 1.9 percent year-on-year to reach KRW27.11 billion.
January-May figures
From January through May 2025, GKL cumulatively generated nearly KRW175.06 billion in total casino sales. The figure marks a 12.5 percent increase compared to the same period last year. However, customer spending tells a more nuanced story. Total chip purchases fell 7.7 percent year-on-year to KRW1.44 trillion for the first five months of 2025.
Last month, GKL reported an increase in casino sales for April, posting KRW36.17 billion in casino sales, an 11.5 percent increase year-on-year. However, the monthly figure reflects a 12.7 percent dip compared to March. Of the April revenue total, table-game sales accounted for KRW32.86 billion. This represented a year-on-year growth of 11.7 percent and marked a 14.5 percent decline from the March figures. For the month, slot and machine-game revenues brought in KRW3.32 billion, a 10.3 percent rise compared to April 2024. The figure was up 10.5 percent sequentially.
For the month of March, the firm’s casino sales reached KRW41.45 billion, up 27.7 percent from February. They were up 2.6 percent year-on-year. In February, the operator reported a 5.5 percent decline in casino revenue sequentially to KRW32.45 billion. This marked 3.6 percent year-on-year decline. For February, table-game revenue totalled KRW29.99 billion. This marked a 3.8 percent drop year-on-year, and a 4.5 percent decline compared to the previous month.
AI-powered self-driving robots
In April, GKL announced a new partnership with robotics company Robotis to introduce artificial intelligence (AI)-powered self-driving robots at its casino properties. The agreement marked a major step in GKL’s move toward becoming a “smart casino” operator. The new technology is aimed at enhancing customer experience and streamlining casino operations. As per the agreement, the two businesses will use autonomous robots to develop a business model and service system. Participating in the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy’s extensive convergence robot demonstration project, autonomous robots will deliver game chips and cards to three Seven Luck stores.
