Number of people addicted to gambling increases due to illegal market

In South Korea, the number of individuals who have developed a gaming addiction is increasing, although revenues at licensed casinos and other gambling institutions are falling. This is a result of an increase in the number of persons using illicit gambling websites and businesses.

The National Gambling Control Commission estimates that 2.37 million Koreans are addicted on gambling, with a 5.5 percent rate of addiction—nearly four times greater than that of Sweden.

From 1,119 in 2017 to 2,312 last year, the number of persons seeking medical assistance for gambling addiction more than doubled. 2,403 people had therapy in the first eight months of this year, which is higher than during the same time last year.

Authorities link the exponential expansion of the illegal gaming market—which is estimated to have increased from 70 trillion won in 2016 to 102 trillion won last year—to the rise in gambling addiction. On the other hand, sales of legal gambling are declining; Kangwon Land’s yearly revenues fell by 30% between 2016 and 2017.

Illegal gambling, with an emphasis on the former, is widespread both offline and online. The National Gambling Control Commission states that 71% of treatment cases and 99% of arrests for illicit gambling were related to online gaming. Gambling dens that pose as normal board game cafés and poker clubs have popped up in popular nightlife locations, fueling the growth of the offline criminal economy.

A number of reasons contribute to the expansion of the illicit gambling market, such as the COVID-19 aftermath, economic stagnation, and the expansion of the gaming sector nationwide. This sector is strongly dominated by gangsters, which has resulted in several arrests for illicit gambling.

The capacity of authorities to identify and punish unlawful gaming has not kept up with the gambling industry’s fast rise. Online gambling busts dropped from 5,400 in 2020 to 2,838 in the year before. It is difficult to identify and capture illicit gaming operators because of the simplicity with which internet gambling sites may be created, their dependence on foreign servers, and their frequent domain changes.

The fact that there is less of a barrier to unlawful gambling is concerning since young people are already playing games on their phones. Because mixed gaming may cross legal lines and include a range of assets, including stocks, its unpredictability has risen.

The state gaming commission emphasizes thorough rehabilitation and recognizes that day trading in the stock market and cryptocurrencies may be risky since they are both considered kinds of gambling.

Psychiatrist Ha Ju-won warns against seeing stock and cryptocurrency trading as easy methods to make fast money. The risk is increased when people think that trading and investing are like gambling.

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Original story by: Korea JoongAng Daily