The regulator, the National Gambling Control Commission, posted online recently a table of figures indicating a recovery in 2018 from a slump the year before in the turnover in casinos for foreigners only.
Annual turnover in South Korean casinos for foreigners made up 7.26 percent of all gambling turnover in South Korea in 2018.
The figures indicate that there has been almost 2.84 million visits to the 16 casinos for foreigners only in South Korea in 2018, compared to almost 2.22 million visits in 2017.
Turnover in the only casino in the country that admits South Korean players, run by Kangwon Land Inc, fell to US$ 1,19 billion in 2018 from about US$ 1.29 billion in 2017.
The casino operator has been under political pressure to moderate the growth of its revenue. Kangwon Land has since April 2018 reduced its daily opening hours, following an order of the South Korean government.
The company was also ordered to reduce the number of mass tables, from a maximum 180 to a maximum 160, starting January 1, 2018.
Source: GMB / GGR Asia
