The Downfall of Former Go Player and Hold'em Association President: Prison Sentence for Operating Illegal Gambling Venues

Court Sentences Defendant to Two Years and Two Months in Prison

The court has sentenced the president of a Hold'em association to prison for operating a casino business at a Hold'em establishment and opening gambling venues at Hold'em pubs nationwide.

According to Yonhap News Agency on January 22, citing legal sources, the Busan District Court Criminal Division 10 (Judge Heo Sungmin) sentenced a man in his 40s, Mr. A, a former prominent Go player, to two years and two months in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 180 million won. He was indicted on charges of opening a gambling venue and violating the Tourism Promotion Act. The court also imposed a fine of 20 million won on B Hold'em Association, a non-profit organization established by Mr. A in June 2021.

Mr. A, who was the president of B Hold'em Association, was brought to trial on charges of conspiring with 53 business owners to open 53 gambling venues nationwide-including one in Busanjin-gu, Busan-from November 2023 to March 2024. The total value of these 53 gambling venues, based on association deposits, was estimated at approximately 3.39318 billion won.

Busan District Court. Yonhap News Agency

He was also indicted for operating a casino business at a Hold'em establishment in Busanjin-gu, Busan, between February and March 2024, where he hired dealers and provided casino tables, chips, and cards to conduct casino operations for unspecified customers. He received money from customers as entry fees and allowed them to gamble by playing the casino game "Texas Hold'em."

The Tourism Promotion Act specifies that, unless one is a licensed casino operator, it is prohibited to conduct casino business that provides financial benefits or causes losses to specific individuals.

During the trial, Mr. A denied the charges, claiming that he merely facilitated healthy Hold'em tournaments by acting as an agent for prize payments, similar to sports competitions.

However, the court rejected Mr. A's claims, citing that only those who paid entry fees could participate in the games, and that the business owners took 20-30% as commission and awarded the prize money from the entry fees.

The court ruled, "There are structural flaws in the prize payment agency service, and despite the illegal nature of the operation, Mr. A bears significant responsibility for encouraging gambling-oriented Hold'em games by enrolling many Hold'em pubs as member companies."