South Korea Sees Rise in Illegal Gambling Among Children

South Korea is recording a growing number of children among those caught for illegal gambling, with almost one in five young people apprehended for gambling offences this year aged between 10 and 13.

Police figures reviewed by The Seoul Economic Daily show that 361 people aged 10 to 18 were caught for gambling-related crimes between January and July. Of that total, 71 were children aged 10 to 13, accounting for 19.7%.

The increase has been particularly rapid.

Police recorded just 15 children in this age group for gambling offences in 2023. That figure increased to 72 in 2024 and 79 in 2025. By the end of July this year, 71 cases had already been recorded.

The figures highlight how illegal gambling is increasingly reaching children below the age at which they can face criminal liability in South Korea.

Smartphones and social media have lowered the barriers to accessing gambling platforms. Police and gambling experts are especially concerned about services promoted through private messaging channels, where children can encounter referral codes and access gambling sites with little difficulty.

One platform known among young users as H Game continued offering sports betting, casino games and slot-style products after changing its name. Its use of messaging applications including Telegram to distribute referrals demonstrates how quickly young users can move from an online contact to opening a gambling account.

At the same time, youth-specific support services have not expanded at a comparable pace.

Youth Gambling Support Remains Limited

The Korea Center on Gambling Problems currently operates 15 regional centres, but only six provide dedicated services for young people.

These specialist centres cover the central region, southern Gyeonggi, Daejeon and South Chungcheong, North Jeolla, Gwangju and South Jeolla, and Daegu.

In other regions, young people receive support through services shared with adults.

The limited coverage is increasingly significant as youth exposure to gambling grows. A survey conducted by the centre last year estimated that 157,703 young people had gambled at least once.

Meanwhile, only 497 people completed specialist training for youth gambling counselling between 2020 and 2025.

Funding presents another challenge.

The Korea Center on Gambling Problems has a total budget of 22.496 billion won for 2026, equivalent to approximately $16.3 million. Of that amount, 121 million won was assigned to specialist training for prevention and treatment.

That represents roughly 0.5% of the centre’s overall budget and the allocation is not dedicated solely to youth services.

Government initiatives have also included programmes operating for limited periods. A cyber-gambling self-reporting scheme introduced this year is scheduled to end in August.

The programme depends on young people voluntarily seeking help before counselling and support can begin. Children already heavily involved in gambling may be among those least likely to take that first step.

Experts Call for Earlier Intervention

Researchers and police specialists are calling for a more permanent response that goes beyond individual website crackdowns and short-term awareness campaigns.

One proposal involves establishing closer and ongoing cooperation between schools, police and gambling treatment centres. The objective would be to recognise warning signs earlier, before gambling behaviour becomes more deeply established.

The concern extends beyond gambling itself. Specialists warn that financial pressure can lead some young people to steal money or ask classmates for funds so they can continue gambling, potentially creating additional criminal behaviour.

Lee Woong-hyuk, a police science professor at Konkuk University, has highlighted the influence of an early gambling win. A child may interpret an initial success as evidence of personal ability, encouraging continued participation and making the behaviour more difficult to stop.

Kim Sang-gyun, a police science professor at Baekseok University, has instead highlighted the challenges created by the expanding number of online access routes. He has called for tougher action against operators and increased cyber monitoring, alongside education, counselling and treatment designed specifically for young people.

Rep. Ahn Sang-hoon, who obtained the police figures, has also argued that prevention and early intervention should receive as much attention as punishment.

His proposal calls for stronger cooperation among schools, law enforcement agencies and treatment providers, supported by a permanent government body tasked with coordinating the response.

The figures recorded during the first seven months of 2026 suggest that illegal gambling among young people is reaching well below the teenage years.

Children of elementary school age are now appearing in police gambling statistics in numbers that have increased sharply over just a few years.

South Korea’s existing response remains largely focused on cases once the problem has already become visible.

The growing challenge is identifying vulnerable children before their gambling behaviour reaches that point.