South Korea to let locals gamble on board cruise ships; Paradise’s lost VIPs

South Korean casino operator Paradise Co Ltd has confirmed its earlier projections of a significant VIP downturn in Q1.

In the first three months of 2015, Paradise reported revenue falling 11.2% to KRW 151.4b (US $139m) as gaming revenue fell 13% to KRW 131b and profit fell 20.5% to KRW 40.5b. The Korean Casino Association reported that Paradise’s share of the country’s overall casino market fell 4.2 points to 46.9% in Q1.

The decline was sparked by across the board dips in the number of international VIP gamblers crossing the thresholds at Paradise’s five foreigner-only casinos in Seoul, Incheon, Busan and Jeju. The ranks of Chinese VIPs were down 17% year-on-year while Japanese high-rollers were off 16%. On the plus side, VIPs from other countries were up 6.4% and mass market gambling table drop increased over 10%.

Things may improve for Paradise in Q2, thanks to expansions of the casino floors at its Walkerhill property in Seoul (set to grow 25%) and its Incheon property (30%). Daiwa Securities projected Paradise would return to growth by H2 2015. The Paradise City Incheon integrated resort joint venture with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings is on track to open in H1 2017.