Republic of Korea

    Coat of Arms

    Coat of arms of the country of Republic of Korea

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    Population
    • Population: 51664244 people.
    • Official Language: Korean
    • HDI: 0,929
    • Salary: $2297
    • Poverty rate: 1.2%
    • Gini: 31.4%
    • The believing population: 44%
    • Main religion: Atheism (46.4%)
    • Second religion: Christianity (29.4%)
    Harmful habits
    • Alcohol: 7.7 litres/year
    • Smoking: 20.8%
    Internet
    • Internet users: 95.4%
    • Mobile Internet: 62.2%
    • Landline Internet: 36.2%
    • Internet speed: 118 Mbps
    • Country Top Level Domain: .KR
    General information about the country
    • Country name:
      Republic of Korea
    • Code (2-digit):
      KR
    • Continent:
      Asia
    • Country level:
      Tier 2
    • Capital:
      Seoul
    • Country area:
      98480 sq km.
    • Telephone code:
      82
    • Currency (code):
      Vona (KRW)
    Geographical features of the country

    Administrative division into regions

    City of special status: Seoul.
    Directly subordinate cities (6): Incheon, Gwangju, Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Ulsan.
    Province (8): Gangwon-do, Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Gyeongsang-Pukdo, Jeolla-Namdo, Jeolla-Pukdo, Chungcheong-Namdo, Chungcheong-Pukdo.
    Province with special autonomy: Jeju-do.

    Features of the country

    The modern territory of the country was partially or fully occupied by the states: Silla, Goguryeo, Baekje, Kaya, Tang Empire, Goryeo, Mongol Empire, Great Yuan, Japanese Empire.

    The Republic of Korea is washed by seas: the Sea of Japan (East Sea), the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea.

    In the water area of the country there are straits: Korean.

    The Republic of Korea owns the following islands: Jeju-do, Gojedo, Jindo, Namhaedo, Gangwado, Wedo, Ulleungdo, Baengnyeongdo, Oryukto, Yonghyundo, Kadokdo.

    Gambling regulation
    • Online casinos:
      Illegal
    • Online sports betting:
      Regulated
    Read more about regulation

    South Koreans are banned from visiting land-based gambling establishments as well as online gambling both in South Korea and abroad.

    The ban on iGaming in South Korea, where only lotteries and betting on horse racing, boat racing and cycling are allowed, has been a key factor in increasing interest in online gambling among the population.

    Despite fines of up to $14,000 and prison sentences of up to three years for engaging in illegal gambling, more and more of the country's citizens, including children, are gambling on offshore gambling platforms.

    Top payment systems

    Top payment methods (October 2024):

    • bank_transfer_krw
    Online Gambling in the country

    Extent of gambling in South Korea

    • For 2023, there were 39,000 cases of nationals involved in illegal online gambling, and 32,000 cases in the first 9 months of 2024.
    • The National Gambling Control Commission (NGCC) estimates that the total GGR of illegal operators in the last 5 years to 2024 was around $75bn, a 26% increase compared to the 5 years to 2019.
    • The success rate for treating teenage tinkering fell from 49.2% in 2020 to 24.9% in 2023.
    • School-age children's participation in online casinos increased from 8.9% in 2020 to 59% in 2024.

    The authorities' fight against illegal iGaming continues

    Recently, police in the country detained 9 people on charges of running gambling sites. The criminal gambling network targeted teenagers with nine simple, gamified gambling platforms.

    On these sites, users could deposit money into an account and receive gaming currency in return, with a total turnover of $364 million. Around 10,000 deposit accounts were also used for illegal transactions.

    The investigation revealed that 171 teenagers were involved in gambling, among them 163 were high school students and eight were middle school students.

    Also, as part of a special operation that ran from September 2023 to March 2024 to detect illegal gambling, South Korean law enforcement agencies detained 2,925 players, including 1,035 teenagers. The youngest offender was a 9-year-old primary schools student who bet $7.40.

    In addition, in March this year, a 44-member criminal gang was uncovered that had been operating online gambling activities for the past 5 years. The accused recruited high school teenagers to engage their peers in iGaming.

    During police investigations, the suspects admitted that most of their profits came from illegally broadcasting sporting events and collecting money from those who bet on match outcomes.

    Prediction for the future

    The ban on iGaming in the country is leading to young people looking for alternative ways to fulfil their interest in gambling. Thus, the appeal of illegal gambling platforms among the population is increasing. In addition, South Korea is a highly developed country: the availability of modern technology and a high level of Internet contribute to the rapid spread of gambling.

    Blocking offshore products and even fines and prison terms for players do not lead to a decrease in the number of illegal gambling sites in the country.

    It is likely that in the near future the authorities will pay even more attention to the problem of gambling, which will lead to active involvement of both regulatory and law enforcement agencies, introduction of more radical countermeasures to combat illegal gambling sites, as well as elaboration of the issue through a large-scale social campaign.