South Korea's Strategy for Blocking Illegal Betting Sites Ahead of World Cup

The Korea Communications Standards Commission said on Tuesday it is terminating accounts and blocking access in South Korea to a total of 1,280 “illegal” sports betting sites. The nation’s communications regulator said it was partly “pre-emptive” action ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 that starts on Thursday (June 11), and in order to prevent “harm to the public”.

The commission said it anticipated that unlicensed sports gambling would be “rampant” during the football tournament, which runs for six-and-a half weeks, up to the final on July 19.

1,280 Websites Ordered to Shut Down by Commission

The 1,280 websites subject to the commission’s “correction” orders are said to offer wagering not only on football and another “mainstream” sport, baseball – but also betting on the mixed martial arts franchise the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), boxing, and ice hockey matches. Where particular sport categories are served by domestic legally-licensed sports betting services, then betting on them is permitted, the commission noted in its Tuesday statement.

The commission warned against wagers via unlicensed sports betting sites, which it said encourage gamblers to use “live betting” functions that allow “fluctuating odds” as an overseas match progresses in real time. The country’s legal sports betting services close bets before the start of a match.

Watchdog Warns of World Cup Betting Scams

The communications watchdog also warned against certain unlicensed sites said to exploit public interest in the outcome of the World Cup tournament by “stealing” gamblers’ deposited funds.

The government unit pledged to continue working with other agencies, including the National Gambling Control Commission, in monitoring illegal sports betting sites during major sports events.

From January to June 8, the communications regulator handled a total of 5,279 cases involving correction orders on illegal sports gambling sites. It dealt with 43,718 cases in 2025, and 69,350 cases in 2024, the Tuesday release mentioned.