South Korean Banking Giant to Spend $3.4M on Anti-Youth Gambling Drives

The South Korean banking behemoth Hana Financial Group has announced plans to spend 5 billion won, or $3.4 million, on anti-youth gambling initiatives.

The South Korean newspaper Hanguk Kyungjae reported that the bank has agreed to provide the funding over the next five years.

Hana Financial Group states that it is collaborating with the Community Chest of Korea, a state-sanctioned charity, as well as the children’s charity and NGO Good Neighbors.

The parties launched a project named Dodohan earlier this year. They claim that the project will help raise public awareness of youth gambling problems through interactive workshops and musical performances.

South Korean Banking Group’s Five-Year Anti-Gambling Plan

The parties agree to help expand the range of available educational resources related to gambling addiction prevention.

The bank and NGOs have teamed up with the Korea Institute for Gambling Problem Prevention and Treatment to provide resources for schoolchildren across the country.

Hana said its anti-youth gambling drive was a response to a recent surge in illegal online gambling-related activity.

In September 2023, the National Police Agency (NPA) launched an investigation into online gambling. The investigation wrapped up in October 2024, after which the NPA said it had found evidence that almost half of all South Korean illegal online gambling platform patrons were aged under 19.

A subsequent youth gambling survey found that 4.3% of South Korean children say they have previously or currently gamble. If this survey is accurate across the entire population, it would mean that South Korea is home to approximately 167,000 youth gamblers.

Helping Children Understand Gambling Risks

A Hana Financial Group spokesperson stated: “Through our public-private partnerships, we have provided educational opportunities to approximately 700,000 children and young adults this year. We have helped them distinguish the difference between gambling and playing games.”

The spokesperson added that Hana was helping children “understand the risks of gambling.” They added: “We plan to continue supporting young citizens. We will help them avoid the temptations of illegal gambling and other crimes so they can build a healthy future.”

Good Neighbors, meanwhile, says it is also providing gambling-related education by dispatching expert instructors to schools. The NGO said the instructors help teach elementary school students “how to respond to gambling solicitations.”

Good Neighbors said that in the first half of this year, its instructors held sessions with 52,803 students from 2,080 classes nationwide.

And the Korea Institute for Gambling Problem Prevention and Treatment has also been training gambling addiction-prevention instructors this year. The body said it provides 10 hours of training to each instructor. A total of 100 people completed courses earlier this year.

The NGO said that its instructors “will provide gambling prevention education to students and refer any gambling problem cases to the relevant agencies.”

Rise in Youth Gambling

The evidence suggests that the bank and the NGOs will have their work cut out for them, however.

In September, South Korean authorities said that at least nine elementary school-age children had received treatment for gambling addiction in 2024.

And in October, a South Korean newspaper reported that loan sharks were “primarily” targeting minors who need cash to pay for “K-pop concert tickets and online gambling.”