South Korea Sees Alarming Rise in Teen Gambling Arrests

South Korea’s Democratic Party Rep. Kim Hyung-jung released a new report highlighting the number of youth gambling crime cases recorded since 2022. A surge in adolescent gambling-related arrests was observed recently, with the peak hitting in 2024 when 559 such cases were recorded. Rep. Kim Hyung-jung urged the government to initiate a cross-agency response to fight youth gambling crimes.

The number of adolescents arrested over gambling crimes in South Korea has recorded a significant uptick. As illegal online casinos easily reach minors via social media ads, there is also a decrease in the age at which adolescents start gambling. 559 adolescent gambling arrests recorded in 2024.

Earlier this week, Rep. Kim Hyun-jung from South Korea’s Democratic Party disclosed data from the National Police Agency, the local media outlet, The Chosun Daily reports. A sharp increase is observed in the number of cases involving adolescents aged 14-18 arrested for gambling crimes. In 2022, 74 cases involving minors were recorded, while a year later, in 2023, the number of cases increased to 169. This upward trend continued in 2024, when the number of adolescents aged 14-18 arrested for gambling crimes soared by a whopping 7.6 times, reaching 559 people. Then, in 2025, the cases involving minors and adolescents decreased slightly to 337, but since the start of 2026, through August, there have been 323 such cases recorded.