South Korea Gaming Commission Says Illegal Gambling Continues to Rise

Posted on: October 18, 2024, 11:55h. 

Last updated on: October 18, 2024, 12:09h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

South Korea’s National Gambling Control Commission (NGCC) reports that the number of incidences of illegal online gambling continues to increase in the country.

South Korea online gambling casinos
Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is seen at night. Online gambling is illegal in South Korea, but the number of incidences of unlawful internet gambling in the country continues to grow. (Image: Wikimedia)

Fresh off a highly covered scandal involving a popular Korean comedian admitting to stealing money from his celebrity friends, including a member of the K-pop boy band BTS, to fund his online gambling addiction, the NGCC disclosed the number of illegal gambling filings the government’s gaming regulatory has fielded in recent years.

The numbers show a startling rise in suspected illegal gambling.

As first reported by GGRAsia, the NGCC disclosed the illegal gambling data at the request of an opposition lawmaker in the National Assembly who wants to limit — not further expand — gambling in the republic. The NGCC statistics revealed that the number of illegal gambling complaints the office received surged from less than 14K cases in 2019 to 48,648 cases last year.

Offshore Casinos Targeting Koreans 

The NGCC exposed that illegal, unregulated online gambling websites were most responsible for the prohibited instances of gambling. Rogue online casino gambling accounted for over 80% of the caseload.

Offshore gaming websites primarily operate from the Philippines and other countries and sovereign states friendly to iGaming like Malta, Curacao, and Isle of Man. Those jurisdictions allow online gaming firms to set up shop and run their gambling websites and apps under the guise of legality, though most countries, including South Korea and the United States, have laws that make it illegal for an offshore internet gambling enterprise to take bets from people inside their borders.

South Korea limits legal gambling greatly, with the state-run lottery and parimutuel horse wagering as the primary exceptions. The government additionally allows citizens and residents to gamble on slot machines and table games at Kangwon Land about 100 miles east of Seoul.

For residents to access the locals’ area of Kangwon Land, they must pay a KRW9,000 (US$6.57) toll. Kangwon Land officials told GGRAsia in May that the locals’ side of the casino is “always packed” while the foreigner gaming space is rarely busy.

South Korea’s 16 other brick-and-mortar casinos are reserved for foreigners.

Comedian’s Not So Funny Situation 

Earlier this week, comedian Lee Jin Ho, who starred in the popular Netflix series “Knowing Bros.” before the streaming service fired him from the program in the wake of his gambling disclosure, said he funded his online casino play with loans from his celebrity friends. BTS member Jimin said he was taken for 100 million KRW (US$73,300) after Lee failed to pay back the personal loan.

Lee said on social media that he “came across an illegal gambling website” during the pandemic and became hooked on playing online slots. Lee disclosed that he borrowed more than one billion won (US$733,929) from fellow entertainers and another 1.3 billion won from banks.

The Korea Times reported on another incidence of illegal online gambling that involved a 17-year-old racking up more than 16 million won in debt. His parents paid off the debt but called on the government to better secure the internet and block illegal gambling websites.

It’s estimated by the NGCC that Koreans gambled away more than 100 trillion won (US$73 billion) over the past five years on illegal gambling websites.