A third of internet cafes in Korea could be illicit gambling operations

A sign for an internet cafe, known locally as "PC bang" in Korea. (123rf)

Nearly one-third of South Korea's internet cafes, known locally as “PC bang,” could be illicit gambling operations, warned a police administration academic at a regulation forum on Thursday.

Disguised as "PC Bang" only in name and exterior, these establishments run offline gambling operations for the general public, most commonly by installing unclassified games and converting gains obtained through these games into cash.

At a forum attended by lawmakers and gaming industry representatives, Chung Jung-won, a professor at Daegu Catholic University’s Department of Police Administration, highlighted a substantial discrepancy in the number of businesses registered as internet cafes and those that could be authenticated as legal establishments in 2021.

"Examining the official data in 2021, there were around a total of 9,265 businesses registered as internet cafes across Korea. But about 6,030 could be confirmed as legitimate based on their affiliation with major gaming franchises," explained Chung.

The gap of approximately 3,200 establishments, he suggested, could indicate an undercurrent of illegal operations.

Despite their often shabby appearance and scant facilities, these unverified establishments are challenging to distinguish from lawful internet cafes at first glance.

Such operations have proliferated in Korea since the early 2000s, contravening South Korea's gaming laws, which explicitly prohibit the business of exchanging or repurchasing gains obtained through gaming products.

Dealing with these covert gambling operations presents a complex challenge for law enforcement.

"Illegal establishments have increasingly set up operations in residential areas, camouflaging as normal internet cafe businesses in appearance. They employ evasive tactics to elude detection, including the employment of separate systems to have the people inside play regular games when authorities arrive," an official from the National Police Agency's Crime Prevention Policy explained during the forum.

In response, the agency has begun reinforcing a crackdown on such establishments since last year.

"We've partnered with the Game Rating and Administration Committee to train 420 police officers on enforcement guidelines and establish a hotline for immediate assistance," the police official said.

By Moon Joon-hyun(mjh@heraldcorp.com)