South Korea's Internet Gambling Curbed

Published: Thursday, September 14, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

FREEDOM OF THE INTERNET REDUCED IN SOUTH KOREA

Authorities plan to crack down on 128 Internet gambling sites

Asia Pulse reports this week that the South Korean authorities intend to unilaterally block Internet access of Koreans to some 128 "online gambling related" sites this year.

"As of the end of August, we have blocked local peoples' access to such illegal gambling sites which operate their servers overseas and target Korean customers," Information and Communication Minister Rho Jun-hyong told a press conference in Seoul.

The action is intended to prevent local gambling companies from moving their servers overseas to continue business amid the government's probe into offline gambling shops, Rho said.

Last month, prosecutors launched an investigation into operators of a video arcade game on suspicions of illegally promoting gambling and giving bribes to government officials in return for licenses and favors.

"We will continue our cooperation with Internet service providers and portal companies and ask for them to keep a watch on such illegal gambling sites," Rho said.

Gambling is illegal in South Korea, with the exception of a land casino in Kangwon Province in the east of the country, but the arcade gambling operators have avoided the government's regulations by providing gift certificates to winners instead of cash.

A ministry official said it has already blocked access to an additional 53 online gambling sites over the past few weeks.

South Korea leads the world in Internet penetration rates with around one out of every four people having access to high-speed Internet. South Koreans spend an average of 47.2 hours per month in cyberspace, the third highest time spent online following Israel and Finland, according to ministry data.