In a little over three months, 1,777 teenagers voluntarily reported cyber gambling. The average gambling period was 10 months, and the average amount gambled was 3 million won.
The Korean National Police Agency said on the 7th that the reports were received after it ran a "teen cyber gambling voluntary reporting period" with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and others. The voluntary reporting period was from May 18 to Aug. 31. Reports filed directly by teenagers accounted for most of the cases at 1,501 (84.5%), while reports by guardians were 276 (15.5%).
By school level, high school students were the most at 963 (54.2%). Middle school students were 813 (45.8%), and even an elementary school student filed one report (0.1%). By type, casino games (such as slots and baccarat) accounted for most at 95.9%.
There were cases where teenagers assaulted parents or committed other crimes such as fraud and theft because of gambling. A 17-year-old in Seoul searched for "private money" on X (formerly Twitter) to raise gambling funds, borrowed 350,000 won from two loan sharks, was asked for interest amounting to 100% of the principal, and was also threatened.
Conversely, in Busan, a 15-year-old who had spent 3.6 million won on gambling over eight months saw the voluntary reporting poster and reported along with five friends. The teenager focused on counseling and treatment while training with the goal of becoming a pro gamer and reportedly took runner-up and MVP at an online sports tournament.
Police conducted initial interviews with 1,504 of the teenagers who reported voluntarily and referred 1,430 (95.1%) to professional agencies. The remaining 273 are awaiting interviews and will be referred to professional agencies in turn.
During the voluntary reporting process, police identified the addresses of 464 illegal gambling sites and asked the Korea Communications Standards Commission to take measures such as blocking and deletion. For five teenagers confirmed to be victims of illegal private lending, police connected them with the Credit Counseling & Recovery Service (CCRS) Integrated Support Center for Inclusive Finance to help stop illegal collections and apply for debtor representatives.
The Korean National Police Agency also plans to analyze the effectiveness of the system through research by professional institutions by Oct.