Masked Channel Owner Displays Game Screen and Bets
Viewer Comments Urge Higher Bets
Police "Tracing Gambling Site Operation Funds"
In the early hours of the 29th of last month, nearly 700 viewers were watching a YouTube gambling live broadcast despite the late hour. Amid loud music, the channel owner, whose face was concealed with a mask, displayed a game where a virtual dealer shuffled cards and began betting. Within 20 seconds, the game results appeared, prompting viewers to comment urging for higher bets.
An operator of an illegal gambling channel on YouTube is broadcasting a live baccarat game. [Image source: YouTube screen capture]
This is a YouTube channel live streaming illegal online gambling 'Baccarat.' The game broadcast serves as bait to entice participation in gambling. Once a certain number of viewers gather, they leave one-on-one messenger addresses in the chatroom and start soliciting for their illegal gambling sites. When connecting to the actual messenger and initiating a conversation with "I want to try Baccarat," the channel operator provides the address of the illegal gambling site.
Although the police have launched special cyber gambling crackdowns since last year to protect youth, illegal gambling live videos still run rampant on YouTube. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) issues correction requests to platforms, but many channels are either secondary accounts or stolen accounts, limiting the effectiveness of crackdowns.
Recently, the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced that from September last year for six months, they conducted a special cyber gambling crackdown targeting youth, recovering 61.9 billion won in criminal proceeds. A total of 2,925 people were arrested, including 486 gambling site operators and advertisers.
The most common type of youth gambling identified in the crackdown was Baccarat (434 people, 41.9%). Baccarat is a game where players choose either the player or banker side, and the side with the total of two cards closest to 9 wins. Its simple rules have made it popular among youth.
When I accessed the 1-on-1 messenger address posted in the YouTube online baccarat broadcast chat room and started a conversation, the site operator provided the address of a gambling site (left photo). When I accessed the provided address, an illegal gambling site appeared on the screen. [Photo by Lee Ji-eun]
YouTube live broadcasts are a representative channel encouraging such illegal gambling. On that early morning alone, a total of eight YouTube channels streamed illegal Baccarat live broadcasts. Some even aired recorded gambling broadcasts during the day, maintaining 24-hour streaming.
Both the police and the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) acknowledge difficulties in enforcement. In cases of illegal gambling, the police and the Sports and Gambling Integrated Supervisory Commission (SGISC) detect illegal content and request the KCSC to take action, which then issues correction demands to platforms. However, even if YouTube deletes the offending channels, new accounts are easily created, limiting the effectiveness of crackdowns.
A police official stated, "SGISC also receives investigation requests. However, even when investigations focus on accounts (for videos and advertisements), many are stolen accounts or have IPs located elsewhere, making arrests difficult."
The KCSC and SGISC, which conduct their own monitoring, also face challenges in enforcement due to manpower shortages. An SGISC official explained, "Last year, six personnel monitored 48,000 cases of illegal gambling sites and advertisements, of which 37,000 were requested for review by the KCSC." A KCSC official said, "We must find gambling information across vast online platforms including YouTube, determine illegality according to relevant laws, and verify evidence for each site. There are constraints in manpower and time required to perform these tasks."
There are calls to fundamentally dismantle the criminal profit cartels linked to illegal online gambling sites. A police official said, "Google accounts used on YouTube can be easily recreated," adding, "We aim to track the flow of funds connected to gambling site operators and dismantle organizations generating criminal profits through investigations."
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