The South Korean National Police Agency has announced that a protracted cyber gambling investigation spanning an entire year led to the arrest of 5,196 individuals.
According to a news release from law enforcement in the East Asian nation, over 3,544 cyber-gambling cases were identified from November 2024 to October 2025.
South Korean police investigation
The release highlighted the types of digital gaming cases, stating that 1,016 cases related to casino or online gaming, 621 to sports betting, and 320 to horse racing, cycling, and boat racing.
The age bracket of offenders was also identified, showing that online gaming was dominated by people aged 20-30, the sports betting environment was slightly wider among 20-40 year olds, and the 320 “other” betting types were mainly associated with people aged 40 and above.
7,153 gamblers under the age of 18 were also brought to light by the investigative work of the South Korean Police, and they have been referred to a specialist center for gambling problems as a result.
South Korean Police cyber gambling probe impacts other nations
In the report’s appendix, there were notable mentions of significant police actions that occurred across 2024–2025 investigations.
These included the takedown of a Philippine-based sports & casino syndicate, resulting in the arrest of 23 individuals, and the seizure of KRW 1.97 billion ($1.52 million USD).
The Gangwon Provincial Police Agency was mentioned to have intercepted a KRW 5.3 trillion ($3.8 billion) illegal Gambling Syndicate with connections to the Philippines that comprised 266 illegal gambling sites.
We also reported on the connection between the National Police Agency action and the Philippines in September 2025, with 49 suspects flown back to South Korea to face investigative proceedings.
“Fugitives collectively defrauded 1,322 victims, causing damages of about 60.5 billion KRW ($43 million). Additionally, gambling websites operated by some of the repatriated suspects had a transaction volume of approximately 107 trillion KRW ($77.2 billion),” read a statement from the authorities.
The Cybercrime Investigation Division has also announced that the police force’s work will continue into 2026, based on the success of this year-long action.
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