Korean Police Busts $384M Illegal Gambling Ring

Police in South Korea have shuttered a $384-million gambling ring, roughly 530 billion won, which has been operating on the territory of the country for the past five or so years. The website, which used female live dealers, has pocketed at least 27.1 billion won in illicit profits using this model.

The police were able to arrest 32 individuals connected to the case, charging them with violations of the National Sports Promotion Act, with 13 of those formally detained as part of ongoing investigations.

Although based in South Korea, the ring’s operations sprawled regionally, including in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia, between January 2019 and July 2024, investigators said. Effectively, eight illegal gambling websites were identified, which together contributed to the ring’s illicit profits and the huge volume of transactions registered by investigators.

Investigators release details about the organization, indicating that it was a well-orchestrated venture that was engaged in virtually every aspect of the gambling experience, and specifically running separate marketing & promotion operations to bolster conversions and attract new players onto its illicit platforms.

The company offered popular table and card games, using female live dealers specifically to encourage male patrons to engage with the platforms for longer. Although the investigation began in 2023, the police are still working on identifying the entire operation and all participants, with multiple other arrests carried out, and several people detained as part of ongoing investigations.

The ring was clever and knowledgeable about their business, with websites being shut down, improved, and relaunched in cases where they did not generate sufficient revenue or profit. The group was also aware of how law enforcement worked and used burner phones and bank accounts to avoid popping on authorities’ radar.

Police Acknowledge Sprawl of Illegal Gambling Operations

A South Chungcheong police spokesperson said that the recent bust was still a fraction of the real reach of illegal gambling operators and operations.

“We will sternly punish both operators and participants of online gambling. For underage involvement, which is harder to detect through enforcement alone, will work with schools and local communities to enhance preventive efforts,” the spokesperson said, confident that authorities will continue to uproot illegal gambling.

Teenagers are also the victims of such illegal operations, with South Korea recently and specifically cracking down on one criminal operation that purposefully targeted teenagers as customers.