South Korea’s Kangwon Land casino has demonstrated that the best defense against infectious disease may be a monopoly.

Kangwon Land, the only one of South Korea’s 17 casinos that permits local residents to gamble, says its profits rose 12.8% to KRW 119b (US $102.4m) in the three months ending Sept. 30.

In a filing with the Korean stock exchange, Kangwon Land says its Q3 revenue rose 5% year-on-year, while sales and profits were up 22.2% and 6.3% respectively on a sequential basis. For the year-to-date, revenue is up 9.3% to KRW 1.23t and profit is up 11.8% to KRW 349b.

Kangwon Land’s numbers are all the more impressive given the poor showings from rivals like Grand Korea Leisure and Paradise Co Ltd, both of which must rely on a steady stream of international passport holders flowing through their doors. That stream slowed to a trickle this year after the country suffered an outbreak of Middle East Respinatory Syndrome, and while the crisis has abated, tourist numbers have yet to regain their former glories.