Cha Gyu-geun’s Shadow Empire: How Online Illegal Gambling Doubled in a Year, Exposing a Tax Loophole That Needs Urgent Attention

As illegal online gambling becomes more rampant, calls have been raised for the National Tax Service to strengthen its tax investigations.

According to data submitted by the National Tax Service to Rep. Cha Gyu-geun of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee, on the 18th, the number of online illegal gambling investigation data reported to the National Tax Service by the police and prosecution in 2023 was 121, doubling from the previous year.

The number of cases of illegal online gambling investigations has increased significantly from 47 in 2021, 61 in 2022, and 121 in 2023. As of August of this year, there were 19 cases, including a case last month where a YouTube channel was opened by photoshopping the face of a famous celebrity and then recruiting gamblers to extort 380 billion won.

The number of online illegal gambling investigation data reported by the police and prosecution and the status of taxes levied in relation to illegal gambling tax investigations over the past three years. [자료=차규근 의원실]

The amount of tax imposed through tax investigations on illegal gambling (including online and offline) over the past three years is 590.9 billion won. By year, it was calculated as 198.5 billion won in 2021, 377.1 billion won in 2022, and 15.3 billion won in 2023.

Cha Kyu-geun The lawmaker said, “Illegal online gambling is evolving by the day, to the point where even deepfake technology through YouTube channels is being mobilized,” and “As technologies to evade investigation are increasing by the day, the police and prosecutors should do their best to catch them through sophisticated investigation techniques, and the National Tax Service should further strengthen tax investigations into illegal gambling.”

Reporter Information Kim Ji-yoon yoon0930@ajunews.com