Police in Korea have busted a KRW500 billion ($384 million) illegal online gambling ring which operated out of Southeast Asia.
According to local media reports, the KRW500 billion was transacted on numerous sites run by the syndicate over a five year period, with some KRW27.1 billion ($19.76 million) in illegal profits brought in by the operators.
Authorities arrested 32 individuals on Thursday, with 13 of these being ‘formally’ detained.
Police say that the group operated eight illegal gambling sites based out of Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines from January of 2019 until July of 2024.
The syndicate recruited clients via Telegram, vetting them before they were allowed to place bets.
The sites offered sports betting (with live streaming of events for real-time betting) as well as table games, using real-time gambling games hosted by female dealers.
Authorities began their investigation into the syndicate in 2023, after receiving a tip.
They say that the group imitated a typical corporate structure, shutting down unprofitable sites and merging or restructuring others to suit demand. They also launched subsidiary sites to expand the network, using burner phones and mule bank accounts to avoid detection.
Authorities say that they will continue their crackdown on illegal online gambling, with a special operation running until the end of October.
