Kangwon Land revenue rises but China tourism curb looms

South Korea’s leading casino Kangwon Land posted revenue and profit gains in Q3 while the nation’s other gaming venues fear future losses from China’s gambling crackdown.

On Wednesday, Kangwon Land informed the South Korean stock exchange that its revenue in the three months ending September 30 rose 6% year-on-year to KRW 438b (US $382.6m). Operating profit improved 2.4% to KRW 161.7b while net profit rose 4.5% to KRW 124.3b.

Kangwon Land is the only one of South Korea’s 17 casinos that is legally allowed to cater to local residents and Daiwa Securities Group believes the property’s recent gains are being “mainly driven by the growing number of casual gamers for mass-table games and new slot machines.”

Kangwon Land’s future earnings may take a hit from its plans to tighten problem gambling controls, which include new limits on how often locals can gamble at Kangwon Land’s tables and slots. The new measures came following criticism this summer by the country’s Board of Audit and Inspection that Kangwon Land owner High1Resort wasn’t doing enough to minimize the potential harms of gambling to justify its privileged position.