The KCGP has revealed that South Korean teens receiving gambling addiction counseling has doubled in four years. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

The Korea Times has cited data from the Korea Center on Gambling Problems (KCGP) revealing that the number of teenagers in South Korea receiving gambling addiction counseling has doubled over the past four years. 

teens are also finding it harder to give up gambling

The numbers rose from 1,286 in 2020 to 2,665 “by the end of August this year.” The number of “problem level” gamblers with severe addiction rose from 65.1% in 2020 to 66.4% in 2024. Teens are also finding it harder to give up gambling, with the quitters dropping from 49.2% in 2020 to 24.9% in 2023.

Another key outtake from the KCGP’s data is the phenomenal rise in the popularity of online casinos among teens. While participation in sports betting has practically flatlined from 48.2% in 2020 to 9.2% in 2024, the casino vertical has skyrocketed from 8.9% in 2020 to 59% in 2023. 

On the back of KCGP’s gambling stats report, Representative Cho Gye-won of the Democratic Party of Korea called for harsher penalties and stricter enforcement on illegal gambling websites, “as well as enhanced efforts to shut down these platforms.”

Cho added that gambling addiction prevention must be integrated into the school curriculum.