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A strong start to 2026
Korea’s foreigner-only casino sector has kicked off 2026 in impressive fashion, with the country’s three major operators — Paradise, Lotte Tour Development and Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) — reporting combined net sales of KRW334.1 billion for January and February. That represents a 27% increase over the same period last year, with the combined drop figure — the amount players exchange for chips — rising more than 10% to reach KRW2.1944 trillion.
Operator by operator: who performed best
All three operators delivered solid results, though the scale of gains varied considerably. Paradise led the pack in absolute terms, posting KRW181.2 billion in net sales — a 26.1% year-on-year increase — with its drop figure climbing 5.7% to KRW1.1682 trillion.
Lotte Tour Development recorded the most striking percentage growth, with net sales surging 50.4% to KRW78.2 billion, driven by a 43.3% jump in drop to KRW434.5 billion. Much of that momentum came from its Jeju Dream Tower casino, which welcomed 96,966 visitors over the two-month period — up 40.6% on the previous year. GKL rounded out the three with KRW74.7 billion in net sales, an 11.8% increase, as its drop figure rose 12.1% to KRW591.7 billion.
Tourism is driving the recovery
The numbers tell a clear story: inbound tourism is back, and casino revenues are following. Korea Tourism Organization data shows that foreign visitor arrivals in January reached 1,265,658 — up 13.3% year-on-year and already exceeding pre-COVID January 2019 levels by 14.6%. Chinese tourists led the way at 418,703 arrivals, followed by 225,351 Japanese visitors, with both nationalities now tracking above their 2019 figures.
Jeju Island has been a particular beneficiary, with visa-free group travel arrangements and expanded direct flight routes from major Chinese cities driving a surge in footfall. Paradise’s Jeju Grand Casino saw net sales climb 30.1% to KRW5 billion over the period.
The shift from VIP to mass market
Historically, Korean casinos have leaned heavily on high-roller VIP clients. But the current tourism wave is reshaping that dynamic, with everyday inbound visitors now representing a fast-growing share of casino activity. Operators are responding by investing in mass-market infrastructure to keep pace with demand.
Paradise recently acquired the Grand Hyatt Incheon hotel adjacent to its Paradise City resort on Yeongjong Island, adding room capacity to handle increased visitor volumes. The strategy is deliberate — directing mass-market players to the Hyatt while reserving premium VIP amenities in the main resort building, allowing the operator to serve both segments without compromising either.
What comes next
The outlook for the rest of the year looks encouraging. Kiwoom Securities analyst Park Jeong-hyeon points to a weak Korean won and continued constraints on outbound Japanese travel as tailwinds that should keep inbound tourism strong, with more pronounced earnings growth expected from Q2 onwards.
For Korea’s casino sector as a whole, the early 2026 data suggests the tourist rebound is real, sustained and broad-based — spanning both Jeju’s resort-focused offer and GKL’s urban properties in Seoul and Busan. If the momentum holds, this could shape up to be one of the strongest years the sector has seen in a long time.
