South Korea sees 14,199 requests to block illegal gambling sites in year to August
South Korean authorities reportedly seized US$131m in proceeds in the same period.
South Korea.- It’s been reported that 14,199 requests to block illegal gambling websites were made in South Korea between January and August 2026. During the same period, authorities apprehended 3,663 people linked to illegal gambling.
The figures were presented at the third Pan-Governmental Digital Sex Crime Response Council meeting, held by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on September 22. The meeting heard that authorities seized around KRW176bn (US$131m) in criminal proceeds and obtained administrator access to 188 gambling websites, allowing them to shut down the platforms and make it more difficult for them to return online.
The Gambling Industry Supervisory Commission has expanded its illegal gambling monitoring team to 200 members and that it has reduced the review period for blocking requests from one or two weeks to within 24 hours. Authorities are increasingly targeting the infrastructure behind illegal websites, including content delivery networks (CDNs) that can help operators bypass conventional blocks. The commission inspected 15 CDN operators and completed access restrictions for 380 of 443 reviewed sites.
