Gambling in South Korea: Paradise Co warns of phishing scams
Paradise Co said scams were promoting fake mobile apps impersonating its brand.
South Korea.- Paradise Co has issued a warning about phishing scams using the Paradise Casino brand. The company said it had received reports about fraudulent ads impersonating Paradise City and Paradise Casino and encouraging users to download fake applications.
The company said it only operates the Paradise City and Paradise Casino applications and has no affiliation with any others. It urged caution regarding applications claiming to be associated with it.
Paradise Co operates four venues in its casino division: Walkerhill in Seoul, Jeju Grand on Jeju Island, Busan Casino in the southern port city of Busan, and Paradise City, near the primary international airport serving Seoul. It reported casino revenue of KRW61.6bn (US$46.5m) for September. That’s a decrease of 14.4 per cent month-on-month and 16.5 per cent year-on-year.
Table-game sales were down 14.8 per cent sequentially to KRW75.46bn (US$43.2m). The figure, however, was up 6.67 per cent in year-on-year terms. Machine game sales were KRW4.3bn (US$3.25m), down 8.9 per cent month-on-month and 2 per cent year-on-year. The table drop was KRW563.6bn (US$425m), down 15.66 per cent when compared to the previous month and 0.7 per cent in year-on-year terms.
For the first nine months of 2024, Paradise Co’s aggregate casino revenue reached KRW614.5bn (US$464m), up 8.8 per cent year-on-year. For January to September, the table drop was KRW5.21tn (US$3.93bn), up 15.5 per cent from last year.
See also: South Korean police arrest 10 over alleged online gambling targeted at teens
Paradise Casino Walkerhill expansion: new high-roller area opens
A new space for high-rollers opened at Paradise Casino Walkerhill in Seoul on September 14. The new venue is reserved for the top 1 per cent of patrons. The company describes it as having an elegant Art Deco design with seven private rooms, a lounge and a bar, offering “personalised high-end services and an elevated gaming experience.”
The casino’s first expansion in nine years increases its size by 17 per cent, from 3,934.60 to 4,587.26 square metres. There are now 112 table games and 213 machine games. The casino operator said it expects sales in the new VIP venue to reach KRW22bn (US$16.6m) in 2025 and KRW32bn (US$24.18m) in 2026. The company plans to open a new international lounge at Gimpo Airport this month.
