The North Gyeongsang Province Police Agency's cyber investigation unit announced Monday that it had arrested 58 people — including a Russian national in his 30s identified as A, the domestic ringleader of an illegal online gambling operation — on charges including establishing a gambling venue. Five of the suspects were taken into detention.
The group is accused of registering a gambling site license in a country where online gambling is legal, then recruiting more than 40,000 domestic users by offering casino games and other content in 35 languages, including Korean, from October 2022 through August last year.
Police estimate that domestic gamblers deposited approximately 78 billion won ($55.1 million) through the site.
Investigators found that the group had used social media in South Korea to pass off the site as an official online gambling platform operated by Kangwon Land, unlawfully appropriating the company's logo.
Police applied for a pre-indictment seizure order on approximately 1.5 billion won in criminal proceeds tied to ringleader A and others, and the full amount was approved.
"Kangwon Land, the only legally operating casino in South Korea, does not run any online gambling site," a police official said. "We will relentlessly pursue and strictly punish gambling organizations that deceive the public by stealing the name of a public enterprise."
kbj7653@heraldcorp.com
