Last week, the shares of casino venues, located in South Korea, went down and the Chinese media were flooded with disapproving comments, made by government authorities.
Jeju Island has recently become popular as the new gambling hub that turned out to be an appealing venue for Chinese players. What made it attractive was its convenient location and the abundant choice of gambling services and facilities the island accommodates.
Apparently, investors were confused by the criticism as it came as a surprise.
The shares in Paradise Co. Ltd fell by 12% last Thursday. The company is commonly recognized as the one that operates five out of all 17 casinos, located on the territory of the country. Soon, Paradise Co. Ltd. is going to build a new luxurious resort. Anyway, according to the information released in the latest report, a significant percentage of Paradise revenue came from Chinese high-roller players.
Grand Korea Leisure Co. Ltd, the company responsible for managing Seven Luck casinos, reported a decline in shares, equal to 10%. As far as the turnover generated from table games is concerned, Grand Korea Leisure announced a decline on 13% during Q4 of the year.
Local media published the standpoint of an official from Zhejiang Province who said that one of the main factors that made Jeju-based casinos so frequently visited by Chinese players a few years ago was the visa-free entry.
According to a Chinese politician, the so called “80% rule” was applied to all Chinese residents who happened to visit Jeju. In other words, 80% of all tourists who visited the island were Chinese residents, 80% of them were likely to participate in gambling activities and respectively 80% of them lost a particular sum of money on gambling.
A few months ago, four Chinese players took matters to court as they participated in gambling activities in a casino, situated on Jeju Island. However, the casino managers refused to pay out their winnings, equal to more than $1 million.
Last Wednesday, Chinese Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced that the number of outbound Chinese visitors has reached more than 100 million for the first time.
By comparison, South Korea attracts less than 7% of Chinese tourists annually, which is, as a matter of fact, pretty disappointing statistics. For example, Hong Kong can take pride in being visited by approximately 50% of Chinese residents, followed by Macau (24%). Actually, both locations are believed to continue developing their markets while things in Beijing seem to have been brought to a standstill.
In conclusion, the number of Chinese residents who have visited Korea and Japan in the period January – November 2014 was announced. A significant raise in international trips was announced. During these trips, Chinese people spent about $74 billion on gambling activities.
