Korea police shutdown 24.9 billion won illegal gambling ring that targeted kids

Police in Korea have busted an illegal gambling ring that had racked up 24.9 billion won ($18.2 million) in wagers. Outside of taking down the group over running a gambling ring, another reason was that they’d begun to attract a much younger audience.

Reported by Korean news outlet, JoongAng Ilbo, the outfit had managed to attract over 100 middle and high school students into the illicit affair. One individual who was arrested was responsible for sending mass texts to those between the ages of 13 and 18, attempting to get them to gamble.

According to the report, he’d take a 20% cut of what was lost by those he’d brought in as payment. This is described as being disguised as a dividend. The police also arrested the 27-year-old ringleader on the basis that he was running a gambling operation.

The site was quite a complicated setup for an underground operation. It featured live play, where the dealer is broadcast for a more “authentic” experience. These were brought in from overseas, but the app screenshot provided by the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency shows a rather slick interface to play with them.

To avoid detection by law enforcement, the site changed its domain three times and used up over 40 different burner bank accounts. Those running the site used the funds for cars and watches.

Gambling, outside of tourist attractions, is mostly illegal in South Korea. Horse racing and lotteries are legal, but anything else has strict laws on it.

However, despite this, police discovered that of the 2000 estimated users, over 100 were teenagers ensnared in the gambling trap. JoongAng reports that the youngest user was a first-year middle school student who lost a majority of the 1.2 million won ($874.11). They’d have been 12 or 13 at the time.

The operator is now facing a potential five-year prison sentence, or a fine up to 30 million won ($21,849.49). Police have moved to seize 1.1 billion won ($801,141.99),

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