[2020 National Audit] "Youth Addicted to Online Illegal Gambling... Over 10-Fold Increase in 5 Years"

Number of Illegal Teen Gamblers Rises from 71 to 734
Democratic Party Lawmaker Park Jung: "Expanding Support for Counseling and Treatment Is Urgent Alongside Illegal Gambling Prevention"

Source: Office of Assemblyman Park Jung

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The number of teenagers addicted to illegal online gambling has increased more than tenfold over the past five years, revealing a serious problem.

According to data from the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee member Park Jung of the Democratic Party, received from the Korea Center on Gambling Problems for the national audit on the 9th, the number of illegal online gamblers more than doubled between 2015 and 2019. In particular, among teenagers, the number of illegal gamblers increased from 71 in 2015 to 734 in 2019, more than tenfold.

People in their 20s and 30s also accounted for 78% of all online illegal gamblers, indicating that the problem is serious among younger age groups. The figures disclosed by Representative Park on that day represent the number of online illegal gamblers who visited regional centers of the Korea Center on Gambling Problems or private specialized counseling institutions and were classified as 'problem gamblers (gambling addicts)'?the most severe level?based on the adult gambling problem self-assessment CPGI (Canadian Problem Gambling Index) results.

Representative Park pointed out, based on the contents of the 'Issue & Research Brief September 2020' published by the Korea Center on Gambling Problems, that "since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), online gambling addiction has rapidly increased, and the frequency of gambling among gamblers is also intensifying, so urgent measures are needed."

He added, "Although the government has prepared numerous measures to eradicate internet gambling problems, it is time to seriously reconsider their effectiveness," emphasizing, "Since adolescents in their growth phase can be more severely affected by gambling addiction, it is necessary to greatly expand support for counseling and healing as well as prevention of illegal gambling."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.