South Korea’s sports pools betting system, Sports Toto, has become a “playground for betting-addicted teenagers,” say anti-gambling officials.
The Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, the Sports Toto trustee, insists that only adults can place bets on Sports Toto.
But the South Korean broadcaster MBC reported that its journalists had confirmed that teenagers were placing bets via Sports Toto’s online platforms.
Korea Sports Promotion Foundation rules stipulate that only residents aged 19 or above can place bets.
Sports Toto is the country’s only legal, government-approved sports betting platform, and allows players to place wagers as low as 100 won ($0.07) on the outcome of multiple matches.
The foundation runs pools for domestic and international pro soccer, baseball, volleyball, and basketball fixtures in a system not unlike the British football pools.
E-sports advocates also want the government to approve pro video gaming Sports Toto betting.
Sports Toto: Teen Gambling Problems?
Most South Koreans use betting slips to place their bets at convenience stores and dedicated Sports Toto offices. However, residents can also place bets via websites like Betman.
Because of its “highly speculative nature,” MBC reported, Sports Toto betting is addictive, a fact that led the foundation to block all under-19s from placing wagers in early 2025.
But MBC reported that many teens get around this by stealing or borrowing adults’ ID documents to access portals on their smartphones.
A high schooler, surnamed Lee, told the broadcaster: “You can use your parents’ phones to place a bet, or borrow an ID card from an older friend. It’s easy.”
Another high school student, surnamed Park, admitted he had “recently become addicted to Sports Toto.”
He told MBC he spends “at least five hours a day” placing bets. “I bet 50,000 won [$34] once, and won about 2 million won [$1,350]. It’s a thrilling experience,” Park said.
Call for Whistleblowers
Sports Toto’s daily betting limit per ID-approved account is 100,000 won ($67).
However, these limits become “meaningless,” MBC reported, if teens can access multiple ID documents.
Cho Ho-yeon, the head of the Gambling-Free Schools initiative, told the broadcaster that private-sector gambling sites are “more difficult to access” for teens. “That makes government-run Sports Toto more appealing to this demographic,” Cho said. “It is becoming a playground for teenagers.”
Sports Toto’s annual revenues are approximately 6 trillion won, or $4 billion.
Meanwhile, Korea Sports Leisure has stepped up its bid to stamp out illegal sports betting in South Korea. The firm announced it would pay whistleblowers rewards of up to 200 million won (over $134,000) for tips made to its Illegal Sports Toto Reporting Center.
The company said it would pay informants for tips on match-fixing, as well as on illegal streaming sites and illicit sportsbook operators.
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South Korea’s sports pools betting system, Sports Toto, has become a “playground for betting-addicted teenagers,” say anti-gambling officials. The Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, the Sports Toto trustee, insists that only adults can place bets on Sports Toto. But the South Korean broadcaster MBC reported that its journalists had confirmed that teenagers were placing bets via
The post Teens Flock to South Korea’s Sports Toto Pools Betting Despite Age Cap appeared first on CasinoBeats.