"Elementary Students Also Betting with Stakes"... Juvenile Gambling Crimes Increase Fivefold in 10 Years

Juvenile Gambling Crimes Surge 5.5 Times in 10 Years

In the past decade, the number of juveniles committing gambling-related crimes has rapidly increased. In particular, the gambling problem among delinquent juveniles under the age of 14 has become a serious social issue.

According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Kang Yoo-jung, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, 59 juvenile offenders were booked for gambling in 2015. However, this year, up to August, the number has already surged to 328, a 5.5-fold increase. Notably, 45 delinquent juveniles under the age of 14, who were not recorded in statistics until 2020, were apprehended this year alone.

Juvenile gambling offenders are counted based on criminal booking criteria. First-time offenders or those with stakes under 500,000 KRW receive warnings, but those with stakes over 5 million KRW are criminally booked. In other words, the booked juvenile gambling offenders are either repeat offenders, have stakes over 5 million KRW, or led gambling operations to gain profits.

The number of youths with severe gambling addiction requiring treatment is also on the rise. According to statistics from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, the number of gambling addiction patients under the age of 19 increased from 27 in 2015 to 181 this year. Alarmingly, there has even been a 10-year-old gambling addiction patient this year.

This appears to be related to the surge in illegal gambling sites after the COVID-19 pandemic, which made it easier for youths to be exposed to illegal gambling. During the pandemic, when legal gambling venues such as Gangwon Land were closed due to gathering bans, illegal online gambling flourished. Subsequently, the illegal gambling market was estimated to be worth 100 trillion KRW in a 2022 investigation by the Gambling Industry Integrated Supervision Commission.

Youths access illegal gambling through various channels. Many are connected to gambling sites via advertisement banners on webtoon and web novel sharing sites or start gambling through friends' recommendations. However, criticisms have been raised that government measures against the rapidly increasing illegal gambling sites remain insufficient. Although the "Intergovernmental Task Force for Eradicating Online Illegal Gambling and Protecting Youth" was formed in November last year, practical results have been lacking.

Assembly member Kang Yoo-jung criticized, "I will point out the government's responsibility at the national audit for allowing anyone to access gambling content on YouTube without adult verification," and added, "The Gambling Industry Integrated Supervision Commission shows no willingness to resolve the youth illegal gambling problem."

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