Police Arrest 2,319 for Cyber Gambling, Preserve 100 Billion Won in Criminal Proceeds

154 Ringleaders Taken Into Custody
Tracking Down Companies Behind Site Development

The police have conducted an intensive crackdown on cyber gambling, recovering and preserving criminal proceeds exceeding 100 billion won.

The National Office of Investigation at the Korean National Police Agency announced on June 28, 2026, that over the past seven months, beginning in November last year, they apprehended 2,319 suspects involved in cyber gambling and arrested 154 of them. The police focused on arresting ringleaders who either fled overseas or operated large-scale sites with stakes amounting to several hundred billion won up to over 1 trillion won, moving between Korea and abroad.

One notable case involved the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, which apprehended 63 individuals, including the mastermind behind an illegal gambling site that had been operated in Vietnam for five years since April 2020 and handled a total of 1.31 trillion won. Five of those apprehended were arrested. The group frequently changed the addresses and bank accounts of their illegal site to evade law enforcement. The police preserved 38.7 billion won in criminal proceeds before indictment.

Similarly, the Jeju Provincial Police Agency arrested 17 people, including the main operator of a gambling site that had operated both in Vietnam and Korea for five years since August 2021 and handled 339.5 billion won. Nine of those arrested were taken into custody. They, too, frequently changed their bank accounts.

The total amount of criminal proceeds confiscated or preserved by the National Police Agency before indictment reached 107.2 billion won, more than double the amount from the same period the previous year. This was the result of focusing on tracking criminal proceeds such as foreign luxury cars and deposit bonds in order to cut off the financial lifelines of these organizations and dismantle them. The police also secured the custody of 75 individuals who fled abroad to evade tracking, working in cooperation with law enforcement agencies in those countries, and among them, 15 were repatriated to Korea and taken into custody.

The police have also begun cutting off the supply chain for gambling sites. They noted that, even when site operators are apprehended, similar sites continue to be established. Analysis of seized administrator pages and suspect statements revealed that most sites use platforms based on the same technology. The police announced plans to pursue a specialized investigation into companies that develop and supply such gambling sites.

Among those apprehended, the largest group by age was in their 30s (24.7%), followed by those in their 20s (23.6%), 40s (22.1%), 50s (12.9%), teens (10.3%), and those 60 or older (6.4%). For those in their 20s and 30s, illegal sports betting accounted for the largest share at over 30% in each group, while for those in their 50s and above, horse racing, cycling, and boat racing made up the largest proportion.

Park Woo-hyun, Cyber Investigation Policy Officer at the Korean National Police Agency, stated, "Cyber gambling is a transnational crime that evolves across borders based on massive criminal proceeds," and added, "We will actively apprehend ringleaders and site suppliers."

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