Over half of children in South Korean provinces exposed to illegal gambling ads, survey finds

A new study reveals that 56 per cent of minors in Gangwon and Jeju have encountered gambling marketing content online.

South Korea.- More than half of school-age children in two South Korean provinces say they have seen or interacted with online gambling advertisements. That’s according to a youth gambling survey commissioned by the Korea Gambling Problem Prevention and Treatment Centre.

The study, as reported by the South Korean daily Kangwon Ilbo, found that 56 per cent of minors in Gangwon and Jeju had been exposed to gambling promotional materials. Over 5 per cent of respondents said they had gambled, a figure that exceeds the nationwide average of 3 per cent. The average age at which they placed their first online bet was 12 years and six months.

Children reported regularly encountering advertisements for real-money betting games, illegal sports gambling and online casinos while using web browsers and smartphone apps. The centre also attributed the higher rates of participation in the two provinces to peer pressure and a lack of youth-focused leisure resources. Gangwon and Jeju are also home to some of South Korea’s largest casinos.

In response to these findings, the Korea Gambling Problem Prevention and Treatment Centre plans to launch a youth-focused campaign featuring interactive workshops. The initiative will align with new regulations approved by the National Assembly that require schools to provide gambling-prevention education at least twice a year. Law enforcement agencies have introduced amnesty programmes offering pardons or reduced sentences for minors and young adults who voluntarily report gambling, while the state sports lottery operator Korea Sports Leisure is offering rewards of up to KRW200m (US$145,000) for whistleblowers reporting illegal gambling.

National Assembly seminar on youth gambling

During a recent seminar titled “The Crisis of Youth Spread of Illegal Gambling and the Responsibility of Sports” at the National Assembly, it was warned that the social cost of a single youth falling into gambling addiction could reach KRW 2tn (US$1.45bn).

Ha Dong-jin, chief of the Women and Youth Division at the Seoul National Police Agency, said today’s youth belonged to the “3S” generation, defined by “Short, Speed, and Simple” stimuli, which mades them particularly vulnerable to the instant gratification offered by illegal online gambling.

The forum, co-organised by Representative Jeon Yong-gi and the Korea Sports Journalists Association, proposed that strengthening physical education and after-school programmes could serve as a “primary defence system.”

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A new study reveals that 56 per cent of minors in Gangwon and Jeju have encountered gambling marketing content online. South Korea.- More than half of school-age children in two South Korean provinces say they have seen or interacted with online gambling advertisements. That’s according to a youth gambling survey commissioned by the Korea Gambling…