Gambling online in Korea can be a tricky business, but it’s not impossible. The first legal challenge to the country’s strict anti-gambling laws came in 1999 when Kim Tae-Yong, better known as The King of Dice, was arrested and sentenced to 3 years in prison for operating an online casino based out of his home computer.
Though the court ruled against him initially, a retrial resulted in a reduced sentence from 3 years to 2 years with a year of probation, and he was eventually released after just 1 year spent behind bars.
Online gambling: An Introduction
In some respects, it’s no surprise that online gambling has been slow to catch on in South Korea. Online casino Korea have been banned since 2007, and only one bookmaker site is currently licensed to operate within South Korean borders.
Still, there are a number of reasons why gambling online could be an attractive option for Koreans: Restrictions on betting sites based overseas are quite relaxed, and most people use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access websites from abroad anyway.
With financial stakes low but appetite high for risk-taking, here’s a brief history of how internet gambling has taken off in Korea—and what you can expect going forward.
Online gambling laws in Korea
In April 2016, South Korean president Park Gun-shy shut down five online gambling websites, making it illegal for anyone to operate an online casino within her country. Park justified her move by citing Koreans’ vulnerability to hidden addiction and that she was worried about our young people being swallowed up as gambling addicts without ever knowing they were doing something illegal.
Her crackdown is even more dramatic when considered against a recent backdrop: In 2011, SK Telecom was launching South Korea’s first 3G mobile network and Seoul was preparing to host international e-Sports events.
The history of online gambling
The legal history of online gambling in South Korea can be split into two distinct eras: Before 2009 and After 2009. The year 2009 was when legislation aimed at curbing illegal gambling by South Koreans was enacted. Before that date, South Korean gamblers could access offshore online casinos via proxy servers or spoof their geographic location to play at foreign websites using virtual private networks (VPNs).
Though a few small-scale crackdowns did occur, these measures were largely ineffective due to technical limitations and there was little legal precedent for cracking down on such activity. It wasn’t until after 2009 that tough new laws were introduced which severely limited citizens’ ability to gamble online. Since then it has been almost impossible for an average Korean citizen to legally place a bet online at an overseas casino.
How is online gambling regulated?
Online gambling isn’t regulated at all. This doesn’t mean it’s entirely unregulated—there are some general laws that could apply to online gambling, like fraud and money laundering laws, but there aren’t any specific rules for online gambling itself. The one exception is sports betting—many countries have passed specific regulations on how people can bet on sports online.
In South Korea, for example, it’s only legal to bet on sports online if you’re over 18 and your bets are regulated by the government-run Korea Racing Authority. Outside of that singular case though, South Koreans can gamble online as much as they want with no limitations from their government or any other external body.
Where does Korea stand on regulation today?
Some notable figures from South Korean sports/culture who have experienced issues due to their love of gambling include: baseball player Park Chan-ho, long-distance runner Oyo Byung-jae, golfer Kim Kyung-tae, comedian Lee Kyung-kyu and soccer players Ji Dong-won and Son Heung Min. You can find a list with details on these celebrity gamblers here.
All of them were fined and banned for one or two years by their respective organizations. You can read more about these cases.
Why do Koreans have a fascination with betting?
Internet betting has been around for a long time, but Koreans have an uncanny fascination with online gambling. The history and popularity of online gambling can help explain why. Since its inception, there have been two major attempts to regulate online gaming in South Korea, both of which failed miserably and may be part of why Koreans are so comfortable betting online.
Online casinos were banned by presidential decree as early as 1995, but with no legislation passed on their books, Korean authorities didn’t take any enforcement actions against offshore gaming sites until 2003.
What are some notable figures from South Korean sports/culture who have experienced issues due to their love of gambling?
In a country that is relatively new to gambling and online gambling, it shouldn’t be surprising that those who are active online gamblers haven’t really seen any major issues—yet. A notable Korean celebrity who has had some trouble with their love of gambling is rapper PSY.
In 2014, he was sued by his father for embezzlement after he blew through $3 million at an illegal casino. So far, though, there don’t seem to be any other public figures in South Korea who have experienced similar issues.
To help keep things clean and avoid future problems due to legal complications, bans on sports betting have been put into place for all citizens—not just celebrities.
