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South Korea’s National Police Agency said it arrested 2,319 people in 1,746 cases during a seven-month cyber gambling crackdown that began in November last year. Authorities also confiscated 107.2 billion won in criminal proceeds as they moved against large-scale illegal gambling sites and their operators.
Focus On Overseas Operators
The National Office of Investigation said the operation was aimed at top-level operators of major gambling sites that handled bets ranging from hundreds of billions to more than 1 trillion won. Many of those involved had either fled overseas or moved frequently between South Korea and other countries.
An example used by the police in this regard included one operation conducted by the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency. The operation culminated in the arrest of 63 persons, 5 of whom were operating a 1.31 trillion won gambling business located in Vietnam. In total, 38.7 billion won in ill-gotten gains were seized.
Also worth mentioning is the operation conducted by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Police Agency, which arrested 17 people, five of whom were running an illegal gambling operation worth 339.5 billion won in Vietnam and South Korea. 9 out of the 17 persons were apprehended, while 13.2 billion won was seized.
Large Amounts Seized
According to police, the amount of money seized was 107.2 billion won, which is two and a half times higher than that from the same period last year, when only 46.5 billion won was seized. They said the increase reflected stronger efforts before indictment, including measures to seize and collect criminal proceeds earlier in the process.
According to police, those measures included tracing foreign vehicles and deposit claims tied to the illegal earnings. The approach was presented as part of a broader effort to recover assets linked to gambling networks that often operate across borders.
Through the investigation, 75 suspects, who had run away to other countries, were apprehended through collaboration between the investigating bodies and law enforcement agencies in the countries where the suspects had sought refuge. The group included 15 major suspects who ran gambling sites in the Philippines and Cambodia and were extradited back to South Korea and later put behind bars.
Similar Technology Under Review
Police said several of the gambling sites linked to the arrested groups were built using similar technology. Based on that finding, they plan to step up efforts against specialized companies suspected of producing and supplying illegal gambling sites.
The investigation has therefore widened beyond the operators themselves and toward the technology used to run the sites. Authorities appear to be focusing on the network behind the gambling businesses as well as the people directly managing them.
Age Groups And Betting Patterns
Police also said the crackdown has revealed a broad spread of users by age, with people in their 30s making up the largest share at 24.7%. Those aged 20 years accounted for 23.6%, whereas those aged 40 years constituted 22.1%.
It should be noted that those aged 20 to 30 years engaged in Sports Toto games, whereas those aged 50 years and above were involved in horse and bicycle racing. The figures suggest that illegal gambling activity cuts across several age groups and betting preferences.
A police source said the second half of the year will see continued efforts to extradite gambling site operators who have fled overseas, with work carried out through the Transnational Crime Special Response Task Force.
Source: The Chosun Daily
