More than half of school-age children in two South Korean provinces say they have seen or clicked on online gambling ads.
These were the findings of a youth gambling survey commissioned by the Korea Gambling Problem Prevention and Treatment Center, the South Korean newspaper Kangwon Ilbo reported.
The center found that the contact rate of children in Gangwon and Jeju provinces with gambling promotional materials was 56%.
Over 5% of respondents said that they had gambling experience, higher than the national average of around 3%.
The average age at which these young gamblers placed their first online bet was 12 years and six months, the center added.
The center blamed peer pressure and a lack of youth-focused leisure resources for the sharp rise in youth gambling in both areas.
Children told the center they regularly see advertisements for real-money betting games, illegal sports gambling, and online casinos when using web browsers and smartphone apps.
Gangwon and Jeju are home to some of South Korea’s biggest casinos.
Children: Gambling Ads are Now Commonplace
The center says it will respond by launching a youth-focused initiative to prevent problem gambling. The initiative will involve interactive youth workshops.
The center said its anti-gambling drive will coincide with new regulatory provisions mandated by the National Assembly.
Lawmakers have recently signed off on an amendment to the Act on the Supervision of the Korea Gambling Control Commission. This amendment requires in-school gambling prevention educational sessions to be held at least twice a year.
“The issue of youth gambling is becoming very serious,” a spokesperson for the center said. “Illegal betting is becoming more prevalent among younger age groups. It’s now a part of daily life.”
Police forces throughout the country have responded by launching youth gambling crime amnesties.
Children and young adults who turn themselves in during these amnesty periods will receive lenient sentencing or pardons, officers said.
Meanwhile, the South Korean sports lottery operator Korea Sports Leisure has renewed a call for illegal sportsbook whistleblowers to come forward. The operator is offering a range of cash rewards for tip-offs that lead to arrests, the South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo reported.
Korea Sports Leisure says it will pay out up to 200 million won (over $135,000). It also called on sports players to come forward if they have information about instances of attempted match-fixing.
