Police Bust Internet Gambling Ring

A host of adult gambling PC rooms (a type of internet cafes) and an illegal gambling program developing company have been exposed by the police.

The cyber crime team of Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency arrested seven people on July 4 on charges of running adult gambling PC rooms using illegal gambling software: Lee (age 33), the representative of “N” program producing company, and the owners of six such PC rooms, including Kim (age 35) of “G” adult gambling PC room.

The police also prosecuted without arrest 34 people on the same charges, including Park (age 39), the proprietor of “J” adult gambling PC room, and his employees.

According to police reports, Kim and others are charged with setting up bases in Seoul and Daegu, providing illegal gambling programs and computers to their more than 280 adult gambling PC room member businesses from April to just recently, as well as selling 76.3 billion won of cyber money to customers and pocketing 53 billion won or so of illicit gains after settling accounts.

Lee allegedly received 340 million won on May 24 for developing nine illegal gambling programs such as poker and Go-Stop, a Korean card gambling game, selling them to “G” company, and offering to manage and operate the servers.

Police inquiries found that the headquarters of the illegitimate chain collected five to 16 percent of the overall profiteering from their members under the pretext of dealer fees, and the program developer was to receive 40 percent of the profits, aside from the price for the programs themselves, for maintaining the servers.

The police are currently expanding the investigation to other program-developing companies and another 11 adult gambling PC rooms, in response to the explanation of those already rounded up that by purchasing cyber money to get an ID and a password, it is possible to download gambling programs on personal computers also.

Jae-Rak Jeong raks@donga.com