South Korea's National Office of Investigation has arrested 5,196 people during a year-long nationwide crackdown on cyber gambling, as reported by The Chosun Daily.
The special operation, which ran from November last year to October this year, resulted in 314 individuals being detained and the recovery of KRW 123.5bn in gambling revenue.
According to the National Office of Investigation, individuals in their 20s and 30s accounted for the largest proportion of suspects.
A total of 1,514 suspects in their 20s and 1,489 in their 30s were arrested, making up 50.2 percent of all offenders. They were followed by people in their 40s with 1,366 arrests, those in their 50s with 800 arrests, 417 teenagers and 306 individuals aged 60 and above.
The crackdown revealed differing trends across gambling types. Sports betting platforms such as illegal sports toto drew a high number of offenders in their 20s and 30s, while game-based casino sites were used broadly across adults in their 20s to 40s. Horse racing, cycling and motorboat gambling saw higher participation among older age groups.
Alongside domestic arrests the National Office of Investigation targeted offshore operators. 97 people linked to illegal gambling sites operating from Cambodia, China, the Philippines and Vietnam were arrested, as were 23 members of a separate group using servers based in the Philippines.
Park Woo-hyeon, cyber investigation deliberation officer at the Korean National Police Agency, said gambling-related harm was spreading among younger age groups and added that cyber gambling networks were increasingly organized and transnational.
He said authorities would continue efforts to dismantle overseas operations as the extended crackdown continues through October 2026.
Police noted that youth involvement was significantly underreported in arrest figures as many minors were diverted to guidance committees rather than formally booked
