The landscape of the domestic casino industry in the fall of 2026 is clearly diverging.
Foreign-exclusive casinos, including Paradise and Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), are accelerating their performance growth, maintaining an upward trend in revenue throughout September. Jeju Dream Tower Casino is also seeing external growth, with visitor numbers reaching an all-time high.
In contrast, Kangwon Land, the only casino open to locals, is prioritizing internal innovation—re-evaluating its organization, human resources, corporate culture, and core projects—rather than immediate revenue expansion.
The domestic casino market appears to have entered a full-scale phase of competitive restructuring.
◇ Paradise September Revenue Up 38%
The most notable performer in September is Paradise.
Paradise's casino revenue for September reached 86.726 billion KRW, a 38.2% increase compared to the same month last year.
Table game revenue rose by 40.4% to 81.077 billion KRW, while machine revenue increased by 12.6% to 5.649 billion KRW.
Cumulative casino revenue from January to September this year reached 744.588 billion KRW, up 10.8% from the same period last year.
GKL also maintained an upward trajectory.
GKL's September casino revenue was 37.276 billion KRW, a 7.2% increase year-on-year. Table revenue grew by 8.4% to 34.008 billion KRW.
However, machine revenue fell by 4.5% to 3.268 billion KRW, showing a discrepancy in performance across game segments.
Cumulative casino revenue for the first nine months reached 337.241 billion KRW, a 5.8% increase year-on-year.
The performance of Paradise and GKL serves as an indicator that the domestic foreign-exclusive casino market has entered a growth phase, driven by the recovery of foreign tourism.
In particular, the notable growth in table game revenue highlights the intensifying competition to attract overseas VIPs and general tourists.
◇ Dream Tower Hits Record Visitors… Hold Rate Remains a Variable
Jeju Dream Tower Casino also achieved significant results in customer inflow.
In September, the number of casino visitors reached approximately 66,000, an all-time high.
However, revenue remained at 43.4 billion KRW.
Despite the increase in visitors and drop amounts, the growth in revenue was limited due to a lower hold rate—the percentage of money the casino actually retains from wagers.
Cumulative casino revenue from January to September this year was 525.3 billion KRW, a 16% increase year-on-year.
The Dream Tower case demonstrates that in the casino industry, performance cannot be judged solely by visitor numbers.
Casino revenue is significantly influenced not only by foot traffic and drop amounts but also by fluctuations in the hold rate based on game outcomes.
This confirms a fundamental characteristic of the casino industry: even if customer numbers rise, if the hold rate drops, revenue may fall short of expectations.
◇ Jeju Casinos Under Special Inspection Ahead of National Day Holiday
Jeju Island is strengthening its management and oversight of casinos in time for China's National Day holiday.
From October 1st to the 7th, Jeju Island conducted special guidance and inspections of the seven casinos operating in the province.
Key areas of inspection included compliance with operational rules, access control, and the management of CCTV recordings.
This proactive management is intended to prepare for the expected increase in casino visitors as more foreign tourists visit Jeju during the Chinese National Day holiday.
For the Jeju casino industry, the recovery of Chinese tourism is both a key variable for performance improvement and a challenge that brings stricter oversight.
◇ Kangwon Land: Prioritizing 'Organizational Transformation' Over Performance
While foreign-exclusive casinos focus on expanding revenue and customer bases, a completely different movement is occurring at Kangwon Land.
Kangwon Land recently launched the 'Organizational Diagnosis and Innovation Committee' to begin a comprehensive review of its organization, HR systems, corporate culture, and major policy projects.
This marks the start of full-scale organizational reform under the leadership of CEO Kim Do-kyun.
By the end of the year, the committee will pursue three core tasks: ▲ Improving organizational and HR systems, ▲ Evaluating the feasibility of major policy tasks such as the K-HIT project, and ▲ Improving corporate culture and work methods.
It is noteworthy that the committee includes not only external experts but also representatives from the labor union and female and young employees.
This is interpreted as an effort to address organizational issues accumulated during a long period of management vacancy and to rebuild the organizational structure to support future large-scale investments and strengthen casino competitiveness.
The challenges facing Kangwon Land are somewhat different from those of foreign-exclusive casinos.
While Kangwon Land holds the unique status of being the only casino for locals, it also faces complex issues including various regulations, aging facilities, game competitiveness, customer service, and the need for cultural reform.
Therefore, some point out that if the organizational diagnosis remains at the level of simple department reshuffling or personnel adjustments, it will be difficult to achieve the expected innovation effects.
Casino Competition: A War of 'Facilities, Products, Service, and Organization'
The current trend in the domestic casino industry is clear.
Paradise, GKL, and casinos in the Jeju region are boosting competitiveness by focusing on attracting foreign tourists and expanding revenue.
As competition among Asian integrated resorts intensifies—including the upcoming Osaka IR in Japan—domestic casino operators are likely to face even fiercer competition for customers.
An era is approaching where Kangwon Land can no longer maintain its current competitiveness based solely on its status as a monopoly for locals.
The criteria for evaluating casino competitiveness—ranging from preferred games and the latest slot machines to pleasant operating environments, convenient amenities, reasonable regulations, and service levels—are becoming increasingly diverse.
Ultimately, the success or failure of this organizational diagnosis under CEO Kim Do-kyun depends not on how the organizational chart is changed, but on the actual changes felt by customers and staff on the ground.
As foreign-exclusive casinos compete for revenue growth, the new test for Kangwon Land is how quickly it can enhance its product and service competitiveness through organizational innovation.
