The National Police Agency of South Korea reported on July 20 that it has received over 800 voluntary reports regarding the involvement of teenagers in online gambling since the launch of a dedicated program on May 18. On average, this amounts to about 14 reports per day.
Statistics reveal that school students have been spending an average of $2,200 on gambling, with some cases involving losses of up to $50,000. Here are some key data points:
- 629 reports came from the teenagers themselves
- 177 reports were made by guardians
- 455 cases involved high school students
- 351 cases involved middle school students
- 74% increase in reports during the second month of the program, attributed to the efforts of school inspectors (SPO) and an information campaign
Several notable cases include:
- A 14-year-old secretly unlocked his father's phone and transferred $21,600 from his bank account to gamble, leading the father to report the missing money to the police.
- A 14-year-old student from Busan spent about $19,000 on gambling, borrowing part of the amount from 41 classmates. The situation was uncovered after a teacher reported suspicious transfers among students.
- A 13-year-old student from Daegu, arrested for a series of thefts to fund his gambling habit, had been gambling since elementary school and spent $4,700.
- An 18-year-old student borrowed $3,600 from several loan sharks at 200% interest and reported to the police due to threats related to debt collection.
The police have directed the teenagers who reported to prevention centers for gambling addiction, psychiatric treatment programs, and debt restructuring.