Audit Committee announces plan to implement major tasks in 2026

*This content was translated by AI.

The Gambling Industry Integrated Supervision Committee (SAM) announced its core goals for 2026.

The Audit Committee held the 192nd plenary session on the 16th and announced the major work plans for 2026.

In 2026, the Audit Committee decided on "protecting legal users and re-establishing a preemptive gambling prevention system" and expressed its willingness to actively protect users and solve gambling problems.

In particular, this year, we plan to promote major policies in cooperation with various stakeholders, including related ministries, education, investigative agencies, financial institutions, gambling industry operators, and civic groups, focusing on creating a healthy use environment for the gambling industry and minimizing social harm caused by gambling addiction and illegal gambling.

< 2026 Key Goals >

◆ Real Name Purchase Rate (race) : Over 53% (increased 3%p in '26 compared to previous year's target)

◆ Number of gambling prevention training personnel: more than 2.62 million people per year (more than 20.3% increase compared to the three-year average)

◆ Reporting and monitoring of illegal gambling industries: More than 53,728 cases (more than 2% increase in '26 compared to the previous year)

◆ Addiction Counseling Awareness: Achieving 65.5% (up 2.5%p from previous year's target)

The main contents of the core tasks to be promoted are as follows.

Systemize accountability gambling systems and strengthen user protection

In the past, gambling industry regulation was a fragmentary approach centered on problem gambling prevention and public interest fund creation, but the international community has recently made user protection and sustainable responsibility gambling as key policy tasks. In line with this international trend, Korea also needs to actively improve the system and switch to a user protection management system to fundamentally block the use of minors based on real-name purchases, prevent addiction and minimize harmful effects due to responsible gambling, prevent illegal activities, and suspend illegal gambling funds.

Advancement of Gambling Addiction Prevention and Healing Services

According to a recent survey on youth gambling, 4% of teenagers have experienced gambling more than once in their lifetime, 34.9% of the gambling types are "online casino games," and 58.5% are "because it will be fun for lifelong gambling experiences." This shows that the use of illegal gambling increases as adolescents are exposed to a digital culture that recognizes gambling as play or fun and is accustomed to immediate compensation, and secondary crimes continue to occur.

In addition, the demand for gambling addiction counseling and healing services is increasing every year (21,824 in 2023 → 23,980 in 25), but the problem of insufficient service infrastructure has been raised. Accordingly, the development of customized prevention programs and nationwide healing services will be strengthened from adolescents to soldiers and adults.

Expansion of capacity to respond to illegal gambling and improvement of the system

According to the 6th survey of the illegal gambling industry in 2025, the size of the illegal gambling industry reached 95.9 trillion won (102 trillion won as of 2022), and 68.2 trillion won online, accounting for 71.2% of the total.

In an increasingly advanced digital environment, the development of the AI industry and information and communication technology makes access to online and mobile illegal gambling sites easier, and new hidden types of gambling are spreading, strengthening the ability to respond to them.

With the launch of the 7th committee (scheduled in March 2026), a subcommittee for monitoring the illegal gambling industry was established to expand subcommittee workshops, policy discussions, and basic research research, focusing on major tasks including illegal gambling and user protection issues, so that the audit committee will respond more systematically and timely as a control tower for the gambling industry.

Due to the development of smartphones and AI, our daily lives, from adolescents to adults, are easily tempted by gambling and cause social problems, said Shim Do-taek, chairman of the audit committee. The recent Cambodian incident can be seen as an example of this," he said. "In 2026, we will make all-out efforts to help the people enjoy a healthy and safe daily life away from the risk of gambling addiction by establishing an AI-based scientific monitoring network and a tight social safety net to protect users and make the industry sound."

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*This content was translated by AI.