Combating Illegal Gambling in South Korea

A New Era of Enforcement in Asia’s Strictest Gambling Market

South Korea has officially launched an aggressive nationwide crackdown targeting cross-border illegal gambling operations, online scams, and organised criminal networks operating overseas. President Lee Jae-Myung announced that all state institutions — including intelligence, police, customs, and diplomatic authorities — will now coordinate to eliminate foreign-based gambling rings preying on South Korean citizens.

The government’s strong stance reflects a growing concern over the expansion of unregulated online gambling platforms, many of which are linked to criminal groups operating out of Southeast Asia. The President declared that such operations “are not mere online fraud schemes, but organized crimes destroying lives and families,” calling for full-scale mobilisation across agencies.

Tragic Death Sparks Political and Public Outrage

The decisive action was prompted by a deeply disturbing case earlier this year. In August 2025, a South Korean student was found dead in Cambodia after being lured with a fake job offer that led to forced labour in an illegal online gambling facility. The case shocked the nation and highlighted how cross-border criminal organisations exploit digital anonymity, weak foreign oversight, and the promise of easy money to recruit victims.

This incident also uncovered the darker side of Cambodia’s casino sector, where several compounds were discovered hosting forced labourers, human trafficking victims, and illegal gambling operations targeting Korean players online.

Multi-Agency Task Force and International Cooperation

In response, the South Korean government has formed a high-level Inter-Agency Task Force on Cross-Border Crime, integrating representatives from the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Police, and the Korea Customs Service. Their mission: to trace financial flows, dismantle online gambling networks, and coordinate directly with foreign governments in Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia and the Philippines.

The task force will also issue new travel risk alerts for South Koreans seeking employment abroad, improve monitoring of crypto transactions used for illegal gambling, and push for the extradition of Korean nationals running unlicensed casinos offshore.

Cambodia, Philippines and Laos Under the Microscope

Investigations revealed that many unlicensed gambling networks are based in Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines, where criminal syndicates operate online betting and casino systems that target Korean users. South Korean intelligence has identified dozens of “scam compounds” in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville and Poipet regions — many disguised as call centers or IT firms but used for running illegal gambling platforms, crypto-fraud schemes, and forced online labour.

According to early 2025 reports, over 50 compounds were raided and thousands of arrests were made during international operations supported by Interpol and ASEAN partners.

Stronger Penalties and New Laws on the Horizon

The Ministry of Justice has proposed amendments to strengthen penalties for those involved in transnational gambling, including longer prison sentences and asset seizures for Koreans who operate offshore casinos targeting domestic players. Furthermore, payment service providers and digital advertisers could soon face legal obligations to block transactions or marketing content linked to illegal gambling domains.

The initiative is part of a broader South Korean vision to establish a “Zero-Tolerance Framework” against offshore gambling and online financial crimes by 2026.

Impact on the Global iGaming and Affiliate Industry

For the international iGaming community, this crackdown sends a clear warning. Any operator, affiliate, or media partner promoting gambling services to Korean citizens without a local licence risks severe legal exposure. With Seoul tightening cooperation with ASEAN and Western enforcement agencies, cross-border marketing and payment flows will come under unprecedented scrutiny.

Analysts suggest that this could reshape the Asian affiliate market, as platforms operating under Curacao or Philippine licences may now face restrictions or blacklisting in South Korea’s digital ecosystem.

What Comes Next

The crackdown represents a major step in South Korea’s long-term mission to protect its citizens from illegal gambling exploitation and cross-border digital crime. It also reinforces the country’s reputation as one of the strictest gambling regulators in the world — where only state-controlled land-based venues like Kangwon Land are legally allowed to operate.

Industry experts predict that this enforcement wave could inspire similar measures across Asia, further dividing regulated and unregulated operators — and forcing affiliate marketers to adapt to a more transparent, compliance-driven environment.