A crypto “mining farm” in Gwangju turned out to be a entrance for money-spinning of a special variety: unlawful playing.
On Wednesday, South Korean police busted a makeshift gaming room that funneled over $95,000 (₩140 million) by means of unlicensed machines below the pretense of mining crypto.
Gwangsan Police Station introduced that they’re investigating a person recognized solely as “Mr. A” for violating the Recreation Trade Promotion Act, per an area media report.
The suspect reportedly put in 50 modified gaming machines and two kiosks in an workplace in Gwangsan-gu earlier this month, operating the positioning below the guise of a digital forex alternate and mining operation.
Following the bust, authorities confiscated the gaming tools and are increasing their investigation to establish attainable accomplices.
“Mr. A” allegedly modified a free cell recreation, charging gamers $38 (₩50,000) per hour to play, and rewarded them with money based mostly on their scores.
“We’ll actively block unlawful gaming facilities from reopening or spreading even after being cracked down on,” Chief Jeong Gyeong-ho stated after the raid.
One other police official added, “We plan to constantly and strongly crack down on unlawful gaming rooms that threaten the folks’s economic system.”
South Korea's playing crackdown
South Korea has seen an increase in playing operations that use digital fronts, from crypto mining to pretend funding platforms, to dodge detection.
These setups usually seem reputable on the floor however exploit the regulatory blind spots between gaming, crypto, and monetary providers.
In November 2024, South Korean police arrested 12 operators and 191 gamblers related to a bootleg on-line betting community that dealt with greater than $7.77 million (₩108.4 billion) in wagers.
The group reportedly used encrypted chat apps and unique invite-only recruitment to keep away from legislation enforcement scrutiny.
And simply final week, authorities in South Gyeongsang arrested 18 people for operating unlawful on-line casinos from the Philippines, laundering over $169.5 million (₩250 billion).
The operation lured gamblers by means of mass texts and web cafés, an instance of how world and tactical these shadow networks have turn out to be.
