South Korean police arrest 10 over alleged online gambling targeted at teens

More than 170 teenagers are said to have deposited money through illegal sites.

South Korea.- Police in South Korea have arrested ten people for alleged involvement in an illegal online gambling network aimed at teenagers. According to Korea JoonAng Daily, the gambling ring targeted teenagers through nine gamified websites, where users could deposit money to receive game currency in return.

The site distributed game currency amounting to KRW500bn (US$364m) and used approximately 10,000 deposit accounts. According to officers, 171 teenagers deposited money.

The police launched the investigation in January after coming across an online message from a parent alleging that a person was demanding money from his son. Officers said that due to the simplicity of the games, many students took part during their breaks at school. One student is said to have lost KRW12m.