TLDR
- South Korea’s National Police Agency recorded 1,777 youth self-reports of cyber gambling between May 18 and the end of August.
- Most youths said outreach and education from school resource officers motivated them to come forward.
- High school students made up more than half the reports, with one elementary student also included.
- Police referred 1,430 youths to treatment centers and asked regulators to block 464 illegal gambling sites.
- Some cases involved illegal lenders who threatened to expose youths’ gambling debts to friends and family.
South Korea’s National Police Agency says 1,777 young people self-reported involvement in cyber gambling this summer.
The reports came in during a special period that ran from May 18 through the end of August.
The program was run by a task force. It included the Ministries of Education, and Gender Equality and Family, along with financial regulators.
The goal was to encourage young people caught up in online gambling to come forward and get help.
After each report, school resource officers and counselors interviewed the youths. They assessed how serious each gambling problem was.
Based on those interviews, youths were sent to healing programs at specialized centers.
Reasons Behind the Reports
Most youths, 1,183 people or 66.6%, said they came forward because of education and outreach from school resource officers.
Media coverage, including internet posts and posters, motivated 243 people. Friends or acquaintances led another 180 to report themselves.
School programs and guidance accounted for 110 more cases.
High school students made up 963 of the reports. Middle school students accounted for 813, and one elementary student also self-reported.
In one case, a 15-year-old student in Chungcheongbuk influenced classmates. That led to 30 self-reports from a single school.
In Busan, a 15-year-old who had bet 3.6 million Korean won over eight months saw a poster and brought five friends in to report themselves too.
Treatment and Next Steps
Police have finished initial interviews for 1,504 of the 1,777 youths. Of those, 1,430 were referred to treatment centers.
Of 222 youths who completed healing programs, 166 received leniency. That included 147 released without charge and 19 sent for summary trials. Fifty six others were charged and referred for further action.
Police also asked regulators to block or delete 464 illegal gambling site addresses found during interviews.
Investigators found that some illegal lenders used platforms like X and Telegram to loan money to youths at high interest rates. When debts went unpaid, lenders threatened to tell friends and family about the gambling.
In one case in Ulsan, a mother reported that her son was demanding money and became violent. He had gambled 200 million Korean won over two years before turning himself in for treatment.
In Seoul, a school resource officer broke up a group of 14 students who had committed theft and fraud after running out of gambling money. Thirteen were middle school students and one was in high school.
