Pan-government response team launches against online illegal gambling

South Korea's government launched a pan-government response team on online illegal gambling and youth protection, and held its first meeting at the Government Complex in Gwacheon on November 3, 2023¹. The team was formed after President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered a full-government response on October 10, covering investigation and enforcement, blocking of illegal sites, and counseling and treatment to protect teenagers from online illegal gambling on internet broadcasts, games and social media¹.

Nine bodies take part: the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Korea Communications Commission, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the National Police Agency and the National Gambling Control Commission¹. The team agreed to cooperate across five areas: strong investigation and enforcement against organizations running illegal gambling sites targeting teenagers; rapid blocking of gambling sites and advertising; prevention education tailored to adolescent development; treatment and rehabilitation for teenagers exposed to gambling; and in-depth research to establish the scale of the problem¹.

The National Police Agency will run special enforcement until March 31 next year against online gambling sites and advertising media that lure teenagers, and against youth gambling¹. The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office will actively apply additional charges to the operators of online gambling sites, including organizing and operating a criminal group and tax evasion¹. The Korea Communications Commission will work with the Korea Communications Standards Commission to review illegal sites and gambling advertising quickly and to request or order their deletion and blocking on portals and social media¹. The government also plans to monitor illegal gambling sites and sites distributing illegal content, and to push for designating youth-harmful businesses such as holdem pubs¹.

According to the National Gambling Control Commission's survey of illegal gambling, estimated total illegal gambling revenue last year reached 102 trillion 700 billion won, up about 26 percent from 81 trillion 500 billion won in 2019¹. The government says youth illegal gambling is linked to secondary crimes such as drug delivery and voice phishing to raise gambling money, and that there have been cases of teenagers in gambling debt making extreme choices¹.

Lee No-gong, vice minister of justice, who chaired the meeting, said:

What it means for players

The enforcement targets sites and advertising that draw in teenagers, and the operators behind them, rather than setting out new penalties for ordinary players¹. Prosecutors will pursue criminal group and tax evasion charges against site operators, which points at the organizations running the sites¹. The blocking push covers portals and social media, so gambling advertising and links that appear on those platforms may be removed or blocked more quickly¹. The plan to designate youth-harmful businesses such as holdem pubs would affect venues where teenagers are present, not adult gambling premises generally¹. The sources do not report any change to how individual players are treated, and no new player-facing penalties have been reported.

What happens next

Police special enforcement runs until March 31 next year¹. The team said it will periodically review results and ways to improve¹. The government will also pursue designating youth-harmful businesses including holdem pubs¹. No further meeting dates have been reported.

For background on illegal sites and how they operate in the country, see Gambling Scams and Illegal Sites in South Korea and Can I Gamble in South Korea?. For the wider regional legal picture, see Online Gambling in Asia: The Law for Players in 12 Jurisdictions, and on enforcement against players, Have Players Been Arrested for Online Gambling in Asia? Cases by Jurisdiction.