Exchanging Game Money for Cash and Betting on Sports Constitutes Gambling

The Supreme Court has ruled that exchanging game money for cash and engaging in sports betting on illegal private websites constitutes gambling. On August 14, the Supreme Court's Criminal Division 3 (Presiding Justice Lee Heunggu) overturned the lower court's acquittal of Mr. A, who had been indicted on gambling charges, and remanded the case to the Criminal Appellate Division of the Seoul Northern District Court (2025Do6368).

[Facts of the Case]

Between May and November 2021, Mr. A exchanged a total of 15.4 million won for game money on 62 occasions through an illegal currency exchange operator. He then used this game money to place sports bets on illegal private internet gambling sites.

[Lower Court Rulings]

The first trial court found that the duration of Mr. A's offenses was lengthy and that both the number and amount of illegal exchanges were significant. The court determined that Mr. A had intent to gamble and imposed a fine of 1 million won.

However, the appellate court ruled that Mr. A's actions constituted speculative behavior rather than gambling. The appellate panel stated, "Gambling involves two or more participants wagering assets and determining gains or losses based on chance, whereas speculative behavior refers to collecting assets or property benefits from multiple people and determining gains or losses by chance. In speculative behavior, participants use the operator's equipment or methods, rather than competing for assets as in gambling." The court further explained, "It is difficult to regard a game in which participants predict and match the outcome or score difference of a sports event as gambling," and acquitted Mr. A.

[Supreme Court Judgment]

The Supreme Court, in contrast to the appellate court, determined that Mr. A's actions constituted both speculative behavior and gambling. The Supreme Court panel stated, "Gambling means wagering assets and determining gains or losses by chance. 'Chance' refers to a situation in which the outcome is determined by facts that the parties cannot predict with certainty or freely control." The court concluded, "Mr. A participated in sports betting, where gains or losses are determined by chance, using game money that qualifies as assets. This constitutes gambling." The Supreme Court found that the lower court had misunderstood the legal principles regarding gambling, which affected its ruling, and thus overturned and remanded the case.

Lee Sangwoo, Law Times Reporter

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.

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