G3-247 Report SOUTH KOREA
SPORTS-BETTING Koreans love to gamble. Fighting Tablet games (a fore-
runner to dominoes) were wagered back in the sixth century whilst card games and board games such as Chang-gi (Korean chess) have been popular for cen- turies and Cheongdo So
Ssa.eum (bullfighting between two bulls) and Ssirum (like Sumo Wrestling) are indigenous sports.
In the 1950s a strict ban on betting was imposed with the exception of horseracing. Gradually the South Korean government began to embrace other traditional gambling sectors, such as the lotteries and later casi- nos.
In 1991 the country joined the United Nations and with a focus on tourism gambling laws began to relax even more. In 1997 Korea started Sports Toto.
Today wagering is limited to trackside motor racing and bicycling plus six off track sports – football, baseball,
Koreans love to gamble. Fighting Tablet games (a
forerunner to dominoes) were wagered back in the sixth
century whilst card games and
board games have been popular for centuries.
basketball, volleyball, golf and a special category for special events.
Sports Toto was the first bookmaker to offer fixed odds bets and run odds bets on events. The company now operates betting terminals all around the country. A percentage of revenue goes to supporting and improv- ing the country’s sports facilities.
Sports Toto is a government sponsored business and helps support the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation to develop sports in Korea. The toto business emerged in 1997 when the Korea Football Association suggested that the national government raise funds for the 2002 Japan and Korean World Cup. Sports Toto eventually launched its operations in 2001.
There are two divisions: Sports Toto is pari-mutuel betting and Sports Proto is fixed odds sports betting. Both are available at terminals nationwide and loca- tions where lottery tickets are sold or bets can be made online. It is permitted because it is classed as a type of lottery
Sports Toto offers many different games and 50 per cent of sales go into a bettering pool that is split with winners.
Sports Proto’s payout is calculated by multiplying bet- ting amounts with a pre-disclosed payout ratio. Players can select sports game events they want to bet on.
Sports Toto allocates 10 per cent to various sports asso- 5 2
01 Sports Toto is a government sponsored business and helps support the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation to develop sports in Korea. The toto business emerged in 1997 when the Korea Football Association suggested that the national government raise funds for the 2002 Japan and Korean World Cup. Sports Toto eventually launched its operations in 2001.
02 There are two divisions: Sports Toto is pari-mutuel betting and Sports Proto is fixed odds sports betting. Both are available at terminals nationwide and locations where lottery tickets are sold or bets can be made online. It is permitted because it is classed as a type of lottery
ciations and 78 per cent to the KSPO and seven per cent to sport related businesses and five per cent to maintain sports facilities. Last year this amounted to ₩866.5bn in total with ₩86.3bn, ₩654bn, ₩58.3bn and ₩41.6bn respectively.
ONLINE Online wagering is still illegal in South Korea and licences
are not available for internet gambling services. Powerful anti gambling interests have attempted by parliamentary means to stamp out illegal online gambling on five casi- nos in recent years.
However it is impossible to prevent players from placing bets with sportsbooks outside of Korea. Around 460 sports betting web sites currently accept play from South Korea. Most popular are the online casinos legal and licensed in the Philippines as the majority support Korean language and currency.
The government is worried about the growth and is keen to undertake a study. It is said around two per cent of the population are 10-19 year olds which participate in gam- bling
Last year saw a huge crackdown on illegal online sports betting sites. There were several arrests and one in the province of Gyeonggi in April 2013 saw suspects accused of launching over 200 websites.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78