South Korea is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, and probably the second in Asia, just below Japan. South Korea had a rapid advancement in technology, faster than most countries. Nowadays, it is one of the most advanced and best countries to visit. It has the typical megacities that we see in Asia but it also has a beautiful landscape.
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One of the things that South Korea has not accepted and adapted to is online gambling. Online gambling also had a massive rise in popularity in the past years, and it is still a huge and growing market. Despite this, online gambling in South Korea is strictly prohibited, and you may wonder why. To get to the bottom of this, first we need to delve a little deeper into the history of gambling in South Korea.
History and Laws
Gambling is a big part of the culture in Asia, and many Asian citizens are big gamblers. Since the country became a republic, gambling laws have eased up slightly but online gambling still remains illegal.
In the past, the people of the Korean peninsula have enjoyed gambling on board games such as janggi, and also on sports like ssireum. However, after the formation of the republic, gambling became illegal for South Koreans, both inside and outside of the country.
Since then, physical gambling laws have become slightly less strict and there are places where people can gamble, however, it is strictly monitored and regulated. While online gambling remains illegal, people still find ways to gamble online, by using e-wallets and VPNs to hide their IP address and to make it seem they are in another country. If you want to see what online casinos and gambling are all about you can check out online slots and try it out to see for yourself.
The First Casinos
In 1967 the big hotels were allowed to offer gambling and casino games to foreigners, but Korean citizens were banned from entering these establishments. In 2000 the first casino for citizens was opened and it remains the only one. You can imagine the kind of popularity this casino gained among the citizens and to this day it remained extremely popular. In fact, this single casino brings in more revenue than all the other hotel casinos combined, and there are 16 of those. Also gambling on certain sports was made legal in the years after the laws were set up.
The Reason
The main reason online gambling is illegal in South Korea, and physical gambling is highly regulated is gambling addiction. The South Korean government doesn’t want their citizens to become addicted to gambling, as they could lose a huge amount of money. And in some places, it is viewed as a bad thing that could ruin a family. That is why the Korean government is so against gambling and especially online gambling.
Online Gambling’s Future in South Korea
The government of South Korea has a monopoly on gambling, and a large amount of the profits of sports betting are invested back into sports. Online gambling is still outlawed, but since we have seen that physical gambling laws have eased up a lot in South Korea, we could see a gradual integration and acceptance of online casinos in South Korea. The revenue and tax revenue that online gambling can bring, and also the market size of it might become appealing to the government. In the future, we could see this become a reason for making online casinos and gambling legal in South Korea.
The South Korean government has its reasons for not allowing online gambling in their country, with the main one being the risk of addiction to gambling. This might ease up in the future, but we just have to wait and see.
