[Suwan News = Digital News Team] An increasing number of middle and high school students are becoming addicted to online gambling. According to the National Police Agency, in 2023 alone, the number of juvenile offenders aged 14 and older suspected of gambling surged 2.3 times compared to the previous year, and the average age of those apprehended dropped to 16.1 years.
The main reasons cited for why teenagers easily fall into gambling are that they perceive it as a simple game and the fact that they can easily access illegal websites via their smartphones. There have also been reports of cases where teenagers, in order to raise funds for gambling, resort to secondary crimes such as school violence (extortion) and online fraud, or even go so far as to take out loans from loan sharks.
In response, everyone from the mobile payment app "Toss" to celebrities such as Joo Hyun-young, the girl group Bb Girls, and T-Comment S are delivering video messages in a relay format to encourage nationwide interest and participation in the effort to eradicate youth gambling.
Chairman Kang Young-gu joined the campaign after being nominated by Heo Chang-eon, President of the Korea Insurance Development Institute, and shared a message on the Fire Insurance Association’s official social media channels about the dangers of youth gambling and the need for prevention.
Chairman Kang Young-gu stated, “Just as a small spark can spread into a massive fire, gambling that begins out of curiosity is a serious social disaster that can completely destroy a young person’s future. "With the same dedication we’ve shown in protecting the public’s precious daily lives from fire, we will stand by our youth, offering steadfast support and assistance so they can nurture their dreams healthily in a safe environment without being swayed by the temptations of gambling," he stated.
The Fire Insurance Association emphasized that the financial and insurance sectors play a crucial role in protecting youth and strengthening the social safety net, citing its participation in this campaign as an opportunity to do so. In particular, given that illegal online gambling, which is spreading rapidly in the online environment, can cause serious harm to young people, the Association maintains that ongoing attention and cooperation from relevant agencies are necessary.
Accordingly, Chairman Kang nominated Jeong Eun-bo, Chairman of the Korea Exchange, and Lee Byung-rae, Chairman of the General Insurance Association of Korea, as the next participants in the campaign, and called for a joint response from financial and insurance-related organizations and broader participation to eradicate youth gambling.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is leading a campaign to eradicate youth gambling under the slogan, "Illegal online gambling targeting youth is a scam you can never win."
Digital News Team
