Down 34 percent for the year, foreigner-exclusive South Korean casino operator, Paradise Co Ltd’s, monthly numbers were down 23.6 percent from last month bringing September’s numbers in at KRW37.2 billion ($31.7 million).

Included in those numbers for the month of September is a decrease in table game revenue from KRW45.4 billion last year compared with KRW33.9 billion for the same period this year, and an increase of close to 1 percent for gaming machine sales which came in at KRW3.3 billion.

Union Gaming wrote, “As we had speculated, it appears that July represented the low water mark in terms of both the absolute level of gaming volume as well as the magnitude of the y/y decline (at -49% y/y),”according to an AGB report. Also attributed to the return of tourists relieved of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) scare was the improved gaming volume for August showing a reduced decline of 25 percent year on year, while September figures continued the trend at a decline of 23 percent.

While the year on year trends for the Korean gaming market are expected to continue to show declines and can be attributed to similar factors affecting the Macau market, according to Union Gaming, conversely, the slight rebound in the market in the direction of pre-MERS levels which severely affected tourism and gaming trends alike.