Police Arrest 297 Cyber Gambling Organizations... Nearly 50% of All Youth Involved

Preservation of 126 Billion Won from Gambling Crime Proceeds

The National Police Agency announced on the 10th that it conducted a special crackdown on cyber gambling from September 25 last year to October 31 this year, arresting 297 operating organizations and 9,971 individuals (267 detained). Among them, 4,715 were youths, accounting for 47.3% of the total, and the gambling crime proceeds amounted to a total of 126 billion KRW.

Police Agency building. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Among those arrested, 1,479 (14.9%) were operators, advertisers, and providers of proxy items for gambling sites, while 8,492 (85.1%) were gambling participants. Cyber gambling operating organizations have a multi-level structure centered on a head manager, with a headquarters (illegal gambling program development and profit distribution), a sub-headquarters below it (call center operation and proxy item procurement), and distributors at the bottom (gambling advertising and member management).

The police have been intensively cracking down on illegal cyber gambling every year, mainly targeting site operators and high-stakes, habitual gamblers. However, as the serious harm of youth gambling addiction has become a social issue, special crackdowns on cyber gambling targeting youths have been implemented.

Youths caught gambling are referred to a guidance review committee established at police stations, where, depending on the severity of the offense, they may be admonished, subjected to summary judgment requests, or sent to prosecution. To provide recovery opportunities for youth gambling offenders, regardless of whether they are formally charged, they are connected to specialized counseling institutions such as the Korea Center on Gambling Problems Prevention and Healing to receive treatment and counseling services.

Cho Ji-ho, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated, “To enhance the effectiveness of the extended special crackdown, outstanding contributors will be rewarded with promotions and other honors regardless of whether they belong to cyber or criminal divisions,” adding, “Since cyber gambling hinders the physical and emotional development of youths, it is important that they do not come into contact with it from the start.”

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