Illegal gambling ring in South Korea valued at $1bn results in arrests

• A criminal syndicate from South Korea operated four illegal gambling websites for several years until January 2025
• The group processed a whopping $862m in transactions, earning $50m from the illegal gambling
• 13 people, including the suspected ringleader, were recently arrested and charged by law enforcement

More than a dozen people, suspected of being involved in an illegal gambling operation valued at nearly $1bn, were detained by law enforcement in South Korea.

Dozens of members and promoters arrested

Illegal online gambling remains an issue for countries across the Asia region and South Korea is no exception.

Despite ongoing actions against illegal betting and casino operators, bad actors easily set up operations across the region and accumulate significant profits.

This is precisely what nearly a dozen people did, who are suspected of being involved in the operation of several illegal gambling websites, which, according to law enforcement, processed a whopping 1.3 trillion Korean won or approximately $861.8m.

The illegal gambling syndicate operated for several years, between April 2020 and January 2025.

However, now, law enforcement has made a move against the criminal organization, detaining the suspected ringleader, members of the group, and people involved in the promotion of the illegal websites.

As announced by the Chosun Daily, the illegal gambling syndicate’s ringleader, a man in his 40s, identified with the alias Mr. A, was placed under arrest.

He was detained after an extensive investigation by the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Unit.

Interestingly, the criminal group used servers located in Vietnam to operate four illegal gambling websites.

Law enforcement seized assets, ill-gained funds of more than $50m

The suspected ringleader was arrested by law enforcement as he was returning from Vietnam to South Korea.

Consequently, police detained additional suspected members of the illegal gambling syndicate.

While a total of 13 were detained for suspected involvement, another 50 people, suspected of engaging in the promotion of the illegal betting websites that the criminal syndicate operated, were also apprehended.

The investigation of law enforcement estimated that the four illegal gambling websites processed approximately 1.3 trillion Korean won ($861.8m).

Processing those transactions, the criminal group earned a whopping 75.4 billion Korean won, or $50.0m.

However, in light of the recent arrests, law enforcement requested pre-indictment seizure of those assets, and that request was approved by the court.

While the group operated only four illegal gambling websites, they had a significant presence and a large member base.

For example, one of the casino websites operated by the criminal group had 25,000 members.

The illegal gambling websites offered a range of popular casino games like blackjack, baccarat, roulette and others.

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