188 iGaming Sites Shut Down in South Korea

Police in South Korea uncovered a large network of unlicensed iGaming sites that processed 23 trillion won (about $17.3 billion) in bets. In total, the organizers created 188 sites. The network operated from March 2023 to July 2026.

The organizers operated in South Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia. To avoid police attention, they regularly changed offices and used overseas servers and messengers.

One group signed agreements with overseas gaming companies that operated legally outside South Korea and gained access to casino broadcasts and gaming currency. Another developed iGaming sites and handed them over to operators who were responsible for attracting players.

Former employees of major South Korean companies were brought in for development. They created proprietary software that could build a new gambling site in just 10 minutes. Operators were charged 3 million won (about $2.3k) per month to maintain each site.

According to police estimates, the two main groups generated around 150 billion won ($113 million) in revenue. Of that amount, 120 billion won went to casino broadcast providers, while the remaining 30 billion went to site developers.

The investigation began in November 2025, when police detained one group of operators. After reviewing 795 bank accounts and conversations in overseas messengers, investigators were able to identify the remaining members of the network.

In total, 77 people were detained, with 21 placed in custody. Those detained included 25 members of the groups supplying sites and gaming content, 33 site operators, and 19 players.

All 188 gambling sites were shut down, and access to 408 related web addresses was blocked. Police also secured the freezing of assets worth 9.6 billion won ($7.2 million).

Another 12 suspects are hiding abroad. Police plan to place them on Interpol’s international wanted list and seek their return to South Korea.