Kangwon Land Inc., the resort’s promoter, submitted to the Korea Exchange on Tuesday, showed that the maximum daily opening hours and maximum number of mass table games at Kangwon Land (pictured), the country’s only casino allowed for domestic service, have recovered to March 2018 levels.
The company said on the same day it was notified by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of a change in conditions for its casino business. The company said it was informed of a change in conditions for its casino business under the “permission” process referred to by the company.
Under the changes, the casino can operate for 20 hours a day, instead of the 18 that were allowed. The number of tables for table games can be increased from 160 to 180.
The new maximum reflects what was allowed until early 2018. The company announced in December 2017 that the Korean government had ordered casinos to be opened less.
Kangwon Land posted a deficit of 156.1 billion won in the first quarter of 2020, with a profit of 102.4 billion won in the same period last year.
Casino sales fell 39.2% to 200 billion won in the January-March period from 329 billion won a year earlier.
The group did not comment on the reasons for the drop in casino sales. However, casinos at the resort were temporarily closed locally on Feb. 23 as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19 infections. Due to repeated extended shutdown periods, casinos did not reopen, albeit partially, until May 8.
In a filing announcing the permission to reopen on May 7, the company said it expects casino loss sales calculated from the start of casino shuttering on February 23 to reach KRW 267.8 billion.
JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd said in a note on Tuesday that the new opening times and table numbers for properties at Kangwon Land came after the relevant ministries “renewed their casino licenses for three years.”
Analysts DS Kim, Derek Choi, and Jeremy An wrote, “With prior license renewals in 2017, the Department of Education abruptly reduced its volume table capacity (from up to 180 tables to 160 tables) and operating hours (from 20 hours to 18 hours per day), which has now been reversed.”
However, the securities firm added, “Details such as the schedule (including when large floors can reopen) and implementation (actual number of floor tables, social distancing rules, etc.) need to be discussed further with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.”
Nevertheless, the agency said it was “a sign that the regulatory environment in Gangwon is turning more friendly,” but added that it was “not entirely surprising given the unprecedented downturn caused by COVID-19.”
“Our understanding is that increased capacity and operating hours will last through the licensing period until the end of 2023, which will be an advantage for this (serious) limited-capacity casino over the next few years,” the analysts added.
BY: 릴게임사이트