Republic of Korea
South Korea prohibits gambling for its own citizens and then licenses a small number of state channels out of that prohibition. Articles 246 to 249 of the Criminal Act criminalise gambling, habitual gambling and setting up a place for gambling, and players as well as operators are exposed. The National Gambling Control Commission, established on 17 September 2007 under Act No. 8279 and sitting under the Prime Minister, supervises six statutory sectors: casinos, horse racing, bicycle and motorboat racing, lotteries, sports promotion betting and bullfighting. Online, that means two products. Sports Toto is issued by the Seoul Olympic Sports Promotion Foundation or its entrusted operator under Articles 24 to 26 of the National Sports Promotion Act, sold online through Betman, and no one else may issue a betting ticket. Korea Racing Authority horse race betting went online in June 2024 after a May 2023 amendment, with a higher age limit of 21 and hard daily caps. Casinos are land-based and closed to Koreans, with Kangwon Land the single exception.
Criminal Act, Chapter XXIII (Articles 246 to 249)
National Gambling Control Commission Act (Act No. 8279)
Tourism Promotion Act (casino licensing)
Special Act on Assistance to Development of Abandoned Mine Areas
Sports promotion betting ticket issuance (National Sports Promotion Act, Articles 24 to 26)
Casino business licence (Tourism Promotion Act)
Watch the tension between a large illegal online market and a supply quota system designed to hold legal supply down. The National Gambling Control Commission exists to cap the legal sector, not to grow it, so the policy response to offshore demand runs through blocking and policing rather than licensing. The Korea Racing Authority online launch is the one recent liberalisation and its caps and age limits are the template any future online expansion would follow.
A survey of 1,929 adults aged 18 to 35 in the Daegu region found that money trouble was linked to gambling harm through depressive symptoms and low self-control, and that the depression link held under two different models. The authors want both screened together.
Police data supplied to a National Assembly member show the Gangwon provincial cyber unit has booked 26 users of the blocked platform for gambling under Article 246 of the Criminal Act and referred 18 of them for prosecution. One trader alone put about KRW 5.7bn through the site. The defendants say a yes-or-no contract settled on a blockchain is a derivative, not a bet, and the courts have not yet been asked.
The Gaming Supervisory Authority opened an account, funded it and bet on sports results, then took the evidence to the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court. Internet providers must block the site and payment firms must stop dealing with Adventure One QSS. It is the first prediction market Lithuania has treated as an unlicensed bookmaker, and the 2,204th site it has blocked.
Casino revenue fell 11.3% year on year. The drop, which is what customers actually handed over, rose 7.2%. The whole decline is hold, not demand.
Philippines relaunches e-visa system for Chinese nationals in Nov 2025 to boost tourism recovery. Policy aims to restore key market after 2023 suspension.
South Korea's stock market has been dramatically supercharged this month, ascending to become Asia’s best-performing market in the first half of 2025. This
Global sports betting data consumption rose 32% in Q1 2025, with emerging interest in table tennis and esports. Table tennis became the second most popular sport for betting, while esports surged by 75%. Asia leads in both esports engagement and revenue, with the market anticipated to reach $1.6 bil
National Gambling Control Commission (NGCC), Republic of Korea
Korea Legislation Research Institute, Statutes of the Republic of Korea (translated)
Korea Legislation Research Institute, Statutes of the Republic of Korea (translated)
Only the chapter and article headings were readable at review; the operative text of Articles 246 to 249 did not render. The penalties recorded here therefore rest on Chambers Gaming Law 2025, not on a direct read of the statute.
Korea Legislation Research Institute, Statutes of the Republic of Korea (translated)
Chambers and Partners Global Practice Guides
Asian Racing Federation