Korean Baseball Players
Bust for Gambling Online
 December
5 - Korean prosecutors are investigating more than 10
professional baseball players suspected of betting tens of
millions of won on baccarat games on the Internet. Online
gambling is currently illegal in South Korea.
The online gambling website in questions was different from the
one that baseball player-turned-show host Kang Byung-kyu used, a
prosecutor said. Kang was earlier booked for playing live
Baccarat games online broadcast live from a casino in the
Philippines. He allegedly bet 2.6 billion won and lost half of
it.
The prosecution will summon the players soon for questioning.
'We examined whether other people borrowed the players' names
for membership of the online gambling website, but we found
evidence that suggested the players themselves gambled online,'
the prosecutor said.
According to the prosecution, some players stopped gambling
online after the website operator threatened them. 'The
operator, suspecting that the players won the games through
hacking, said that they would notify their respective teams of
their online gambling practices, forces the players to stop
using the site,' he said.
The prosecution is also in the process of examining the players'
bank accounts in an attempt to track down any online
gambling-related payments.
This is the latest in a long line of illegal online gambling
scandals involving Korean sports players. In November, baseball
pitcher, Oh Sang-min of the LG Twins, was arrested for holding
over 60 online gambling sessions. The money involved per session
allegedly reached up to three million won.
Through his online gambling habit, he reportedly lost 70 million
won as well as a car. The gambling house owner blackmailed Oh,
which prompted him to turn himself in to police.
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