The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency has arrested 172 people following an investigation into illegal gambling operations that included a KRW 320bn two-way betting organization.
Police said six people were detained, while the wider group was arrested on allegations including operating illegal gambling sites, habitual gambling and violations of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.
The investigation initially focused on an illegal gambling operation that allegedly ran overseas-hosted websites from an office in Busan's Nam-gu district between January and May 2024. The sites handled approximately KRW 5.3bn in gambling activity.
Two key operators were detained during the initial investigation. Police subsequently expanded the case to gamblers, identifying 55 people and detaining three high-value habitual bettors, one of whom allegedly wagered as much as KRW 320m.
Investigators then noticed that many accounts used to receive gambling funds were registered to deaf individuals, prompting a separate investigation into an organized account distribution network.
Police allege that a deaf interpreter recruited other deaf individuals after receiving an account-sourcing proposal from a manager connected to a two-way gambling organization. Authorities arrested the interpreter and 92 people linked to the account supply network, including 87 deaf account holders.
The investigation ultimately identified 25 members of the two-way gambling organization, all of whom were arrested. The group allegedly used borrowed-name accounts to conduct KRW 320bn in illegal wagering.
According to police, the organization simultaneously placed bets on opposing outcomes across illegal gambling websites, generating returns through a percentage of points provided by the operators.
Authorities warned that transferring or lending a bank account to another person can constitute an offense under South Korea's Electronic Financial Transactions Act, regardless of whether compensation is received.
Two-way gambling involves placing bets on opposing outcomes across multiple sites to reduce exposure to losses while taking advantage of incentives offered by gambling operators
