South Korean teen gambling arrests surpass 2025 total
Police recorded 267 teen gambling arrests in South Korea through July.
Key takeaways:
- South Korean police arrested 267 teenagers for online gambling from January to July 2026, already surpassing the total for the 12 months of 2025 by one case..
- Southern Gyeonggi saw the highest number of arrests, with 50 cases, followed by Busan with 36.
- Online casinos were the most common form of gambling among regular teen gamblers, cited by 35.8 per cent.
South Korea.- Police in South Korea processed 267 teenagers for online gambling in the first seven months of 2026, already exceeding the full-year total from 2025. The figures come from National Police Agency data obtained by Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jun-hyeok of the National Assembly’s Education Committee.
Arrest numbers have fluctuated over the years. Authorities recorded 116 teen suspects in 2021 and 87 in 2022. The total rose to 170 in 2023, jumped to 749 in 2024, then fell to 266 in 2025. The first seven months of 2026 have already overtaken last year’s count by one case.
Southern Gyeonggi Province saw the highest number of cases at 50, followed by Busan with 36, Seoul with 33 and North Chungcheong Province with 20. Northern Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong each recorded 18 arrests.
Online casino games remain the most common form of gambling among adolescents, according to the 2025 Youth Gambling Survey by the Korea Centre on Gambling Problems. Among teens who gambled regularly over six months, 35.8 per cent cited online casinos as their main activity. Online mini-games accounted for 29.8 per cent, online hwatu card games 17.2 per cent, sports betting 16.0 per cent and online lotteries 10.2 per cent.
The figures have renewed concerns over minors’ access to online gambling. Schools across South Korea are required to provide gambling-prevention education, but Kim has called for a system to measure the effectiveness of education and stressing that students should be taught that they can face criminal charges for gambling themselves and also for lending bank accounts or promoting illegal sites.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- How many teenagers were arrested for online gambling in South Korea in 2026 so far? Police arrested 267 teenagers between January and July 2026, according to National Police Agency data.
- Which gambling activity is most common among South Korean teenagers? Online casino games were the most common activity among teens who gambled regularly, cited by 35.8 per cent in the 2025 Youth Gambling Survey.
- Which South Korean region recorded the most teen online gambling arrests? Southern Gyeonggi Province recorded the highest number through July 2026, with 50 cases.
- What is South Korea doing to prevent teen gambling? Schools are required to provide gambling-prevention education, but lawmaker Kim Jun-hyeok has called a system to measure how effective the programmes are.
