South Korea Teen Cyber Gambling Arrests Rise

South Korean authorities arrested 267 teenagers for alleged cyber gambling offences between January and July 2026, already exceeding the total recorded throughout the whole of 2025.

The figures were provided by the Korean National Police Agency in a report titled “Status of teenage suspects in cyber gambling by city and province, Jan.–July 2021–2026.” The report was submitted on September 27 by Kim Jun-hyeok, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker serving on the Education Committee.

The 2026 figure has already surpassed the 266 teenage suspects arrested in 2025, highlighting concerns over teenagers’ access to cyber gambling.

Teen Arrest Numbers Fluctuate

Police data shows that teenage cyber gambling arrests have varied considerably since 2021.

Authorities recorded 116 arrests in 2021, followed by a decline to 87 in 2022. The number then climbed to 170 in 2023, before increasing sharply to 749 in 2024.

Arrests subsequently fell to 266 in 2025, but the latest figures indicate that the number has risen again during the first seven months of 2026.

There are also significant differences between regions. Southern Gyeonggi recorded the highest number with 50 arrests, followed by Busan with 36 and Seoul with 33.

North Chungcheong recorded 20 arrests, while Northern Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong each reported 18.

Online Casino Games Among Teen Gambling Choices

Cyber gambling provides teenagers with relatively accessible opportunities to participate in gambling through online platforms.

The 2025 youth gambling survey conducted by the Korea Problem Gambling Agency showed that online casino games were the most common preference among young people who had gambled consistently for six months before the survey.

Online casino games accounted for 35.8% of respondents. Online mini games followed at 29.8%, while online hwatu represented 17.2%.

Meanwhile, online sports betting accounted for 16.0%, and online lotteries represented 10.2%.

The results illustrate the different forms of internet gambling reported by young people, with online casino games representing the largest share among the options included in the survey.

Schools Required to Provide Prevention Education

Schools across all levels are required under relevant laws to provide gambling prevention education.

As of 2024, schools in seven cities and provinces were found to be implementing such programmes. These included Busan, Daejeon, Sejong, Gangwon, South Chungcheong, South Jeolla, and North Gyeongsang.

However, the implementation of prevention lessons does not necessarily demonstrate how effectively they address teenage cyber gambling.

Kim said education authorities need to move beyond simply confirming whether schools provide gambling prevention classes. He called for a system that would assess and measure the actual effectiveness of these programmes.

With arrests during the first seven months of 2026 already exceeding the full-year 2025 figure, greater attention is being placed on how schools and education authorities address cyber gambling among teenagers and measure the outcomes of prevention efforts.