'Gambling' Reaches Middle Schools... 294 Voluntary Reports in One Month

Average Gambling Duration Among Reporting Youths Reaches 12 Months
Middle School Students Account for 40%, Indicating Younger Age Trend
Police: "Voluntary Reports Accepted Until End of August... Treatment Support to Continue"

The reality of youth cyber gambling spreading both inside and outside schools has come to light. Police and government authorities plan to continue supporting and expanding counseling and treatment program connections by operating a voluntary reporting system.

According to the National Police Agency on June 22, a total of 294 cases of youth cyber gambling were received nationwide over the past month through the voluntary reporting system. Of these, 244 were self-reported by the youths themselves, while 50 were reported by guardians.

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The average gambling duration among youths who voluntarily reported was 12 months. The average amount gambled was 3 million won, with the highest single amount reaching 60 million won. By gender, males accounted for 274 cases, comprising 93% of the total. By school level, high school students made up 176 cases (60%), while middle school students accounted for 118 cases (40%), indicating that cyber gambling has spread to middle schools as well.

At one high school in Gangwon Province, 48 students reported their involvement in cyber gambling, marking the highest number of reports from a single school nationwide. Including an additional 20 students from nearby schools, the total number of reports in the Gangwon area reached 78. Gangwon Provincial Police explained that they encouraged participation in reporting by including Instagram account information on the School Police Officer (SPO) business cards and utilizing direct messages (DM), adopting promotional strategies tailored to the youth's perspective.

The voluntary reporting process also revealed cases of harm caused by gambling addiction and additional criminal acts. In Incheon, it was found that a 15-year-old male student assaulted his mother and attempted to take his own life over a 4 million won gambling debt. The student's total cumulative gambling amount reached 30 million won. A 17-year-old out-of-school youth in Jeonbuk stole a car to raise gambling funds, and deposited 16 million won into gambling sites over the course of about one year and two months.

The government will operate the voluntary reporting system until the end of August. The eligible individuals are youths under the age of 19 who have engaged in cyber gambling, as well as their guardians. Reports can be submitted through the 117 School Violence Reporting and Counseling Center.

Once a voluntary report is received, the School Police Officer and a professional counselor conduct a screening assessment and, if necessary, connect the individual to a specialized treatment institution. The police plan to comprehensively consider the scale of gambling, degree of remorse, and progress of treatment, and then determine whether to grant leniency—such as a warning or summary trial—after deliberation by the Guidance Review Committee.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.