Police in Incheon announced on Oct. 23 that they had busted an online gambling ring based in China for illicit operations in Korea, with the operation valued at a total of 5.7 trillion won ($3.9 billion)1. Twenty suspects were arrested, and 171 others face a prosecutors' probe without detention, according to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency1.
The suspects are accused of running the gambling sites from January 2014 until July last year through a China headquarters in charge of a server and local operating units in Korea1. Investigators said the group had used the server in China as part of efforts to dodge police crackdown, frequently relocating their operation sites in Korea1.
Police put the ring's presumed gains at 65.7 billion won, of which 6.7 billion won has already been confiscated or forfeited1. A photo provided by the agency on Oct. 23 showed confiscated illegal gambling money1.
"Twenty suspects were arrested, and 171 others face prosecutors' probe without detention, according to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency."
The case sits within a wider pattern of enforcement against offshore operators that serve players in Asian markets, which is covered in Crackdowns on Offshore Online Gambling Hubs in Asia and in Online Gambling Hubs in Asia and What Their Shutdown Means for Players.
What it means for players
The figures describe the scale of money that moved through sites run from outside Korea and aimed at users in the country. For players in South Korea, the practical point is that sites operated from abroad can be taken down or disrupted by Korean police working with a foreign-based server, and that money held on such sites can be seized as evidence. The announcement does not say which sites were involved, how many players used them, or whether any players, as opposed to operators, are under investigation. Those details have not been reported.
For locals, expats and visitors, the legal position on online betting in Korea and elsewhere in the region is set out in Can I Gamble in South Korea? and in Online Gambling in Asia: The Law for Players in 12 Jurisdictions. The risks specific to illegal and unlicensed sites in the country are covered in Gambling Scams and Illegal Sites in South Korea, and the general problem of sites that stop paying is covered in When an Online Gambling Site Won't Pay Out: What Players Can Do. Whether players themselves have faced arrest in Asian jurisdictions is tracked in Have Players Been Arrested for Online Gambling in Asia? Cases by Jurisdiction.
What happens next
The 171 suspects referred without detention now face a prosecutors' probe1. No trial dates, charging decisions or further arrests have been reported.
Sources1 sources
- China-based online gambling ring busted; 20 arrested - The Korea Times, koreatimes.co.kr
