The National Office of Investigation (NOI) of the Korean National Police Agency said on the 30th it will conduct a focused crackdown on illegal gambling at hold'em pubs and elsewhere. The intensive crackdown will run for four months from May 1 to Aug. 31.
The Korean National Police Agency said it cracked down on illegal gambling three times from 2023 through last year, arresting 6,285 people. It also confiscated and collected about 24 billion won in criminal revenue.
However, police said illegal gambling at hold'em pubs and similar venues is still continuing. They said operations have instead become more sophisticated and covert, running on membership and reservations via secure social media (SNS) such as Telegram.
During the intensive crackdown, police plan to focus their investigation on illegal gambling at hold'em pubs and similar venues; acts of exchanging chips used in games for cash or coins; and acts by illegal gambling house operators of taking commissions or other profits.
Police also decided to crack down on irregular illegal acts such as converting money through transactions of tournament entry tickets (seeds) and collecting entry fees to hold hold'em tournaments and then paying out large prize money.
Police said they will make pretrial detention the principle for main operators and apply the crime of organizing a criminal group if the operation system is organized with divided roles. They will also actively review applying the revised Tourism Promotion Act, which can punish casino-like activities inside hold'em pubs.
Because illegal gambling is run covertly, police urged active tips. An official at the Korean National Police Agency said, "We will pay up to 50 million won in rewards for contributions to arresting suspects to tipsters who provide decisive evidence," adding, "If a gambling participant turns themself in, they may be eligible for discretionary mitigation and could be exempt from punishment."