Smartphones, bad decisions: How permission to use devices is driving up gambling in the military

Smartphones have helped Korean military conscripts feel connected to society since the government permitted usage nationwide in 2019, but for some, that access has come with a cost — literally.

Online gambling and its easy accessibility have contributed to mounting debt for enlistees. 

The number of military personnel who engaged in illegal gambling increased to 478 in 2024, 18.9 percent more than the 402 in 2021, according to data shared by People Power Party Rep. Park Jun-tae last year.

The entertainment-for-some, vice-for-others — which is illegal for Koreans both at home and even abroad — has made some soldiers lose an amount that is impossible to repay with just their wages. One marine reportedly lost 192 million won ($139,000) due to gambling in July of last year.

Access to gambling is simple as long as enlistees have smartphones. All they need to do is find ads that lead to websites where they can play casino-style games. These sites often give away free money to first-time visitors in an attempt to draw them in. 

Among military personnel caught for illegal gambling in 2024, 89.5 percent were enlisted members, according to data from Rep. Park. Enlistees had limited access to online gambling when they were not allowed to use smartphones on base, but the practice has become prevalent since the government permitted the use of cell phones during free time in 2019. 

With the devices, a host of entertainment options ranging from mobile games to online gambling have become parts of many enlistees' nearly two-year service periods. All able-bodied Korean men are required to serve in the military for 18 to 21 months depending on the branch, with a vast majority required to stay in the barracks. 

When looking at life inside the military, gambling can seem like an easy trap to fall into.

How enlistees fall into gambling

Gambling can be a compelling and addictive entertainment option for enlistees, most of whom must always stay on base except when on leave.

Once a soldier starts gambling, others in the same barracks may spot it and give it a try. 

This was the case for multiple enlistees who sought treatment at the Korea Gambling Addiction Treatment Center, a private center that supports people struggling with gambling addiction.

“Before enlistment, conscripts didn’t gamble because the people around them didn’t, but after joining the military and seeing people around them gamble, they ended up doing it too,” Chu Won-yong, a director at the center, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Some who get addicted become so preoccupied with gambling that they use their cell phones outside permitted hours to continue gambling.

“When I asked enlistees who came here, they said they even take their phones with them when they go on patrol and use them while they are on duty,” Chu said. "They said it helps pass the time and makes the patrol work less boring.”

Larger wages, more opportunities

Smartphones are not the sole factor driving up the recent increase in gambling.

Since 2019, when enlistees became permitted to use cell phones, salaries that had stayed far below the minimum wage have surged.

Monthly earnings for enlistees stood at 300,000 to 400,000 won in 2019, compared with 900,000 won to nearly 2 million won this year.

Some young enlistees are introduced to gambling for the first time during their military service, when a steady monthly paycheck gives them money to spare. For those who already struggle with gambling addiction, the regular income can give them the means to place larger bets and deepen their losses.

“Before they joined the military, they were mostly college students without jobs, so they relied on allowances from their families,” Chu said. “Some of them were already gambling with small amounts of that money, but once they joined the military and started getting a paycheck, they began gambling with much bigger amounts.”

Like the outside world, gambling in the military does not always stop with losing money; it also leads to borrowing money to recover the loss. 

Enlistees can borrow money from comrades, but some of them, including those seeking treatment at the Korea Gambling Addiction Treatment Center, take one step further by taking out a loan from a loan shark with extortionary interest rates, pushing them into punishing debt.

“The debts military members had weren’t extremely large, but they ranged from about 25 million to 40 million won,” Chu said. “Those that came here had an average of more than 20 million won in debt.”

Enlistees are the majority group of gamblers in the military, but this doesn’t mean officers never bet or borrow money. Of the 313 military personnel booked by military police last year for online gambling, 20 were commissioned and noncommissioned officers, according to data shared by the Army headquarters.

“An officer who came here had lost 1.2 million won the day before he came here,” Chu said. “When I asked him about it, he said he had borrowed money from a loan shark just to gamble.”

Penalties on and off base

For military personnel, gambling carries the same punishment as it does for civilians — a fine of up to 10 million won — but also results in additional penalties by the military.

“Criminal punishment is the primary form of punishment, but the military can also impose additional internal disciplinary measures, such as a reduction in pay,” an official from the Ministry of National Defense said. “These days, the military also imposes pay reductions on enlisted members.”

Besides pay reductions, the military can also cut leave days or restrict cell phone use for additional penalties.

A military jail sentence — under which personnel must spend a certain number of days incarcerated and extend their service to make up for those days — is no longer an available punishment, as the government abolished the system in 2020.

The extent of internal disciplinary action differs depending on factors such as how frequently the enlistee gambled.

Combating the gambling issue

The government has not been blind to the recent increase in gambling within the military.

The Defense Ministry is considering adopting a program that allows military members who had gambled to voluntarily report themselves in exchange for leniency.

The idea behind the program is similar to a separate campaign for teenagers that ran through Monday, during which authorities handed down lighter punishments to teenagers who self-report gambling. Since the campaign launched on May 18, police received 294 reports in the first month and 512 in the second.

The Defense Ministry has yet to reveal details about the possible plan as of Aug. 26.

“We are still reviewing it,” the ministry official said. “There are some legal issues involved, so I think it will take some time.” 

The military may not be an educational institution, but efforts to educate enlistees about the potential consequences of gambling may be necessary, as they could face more serious consequences after transitioning to civilian life and earning higher wages.

“I think the government needs to provide more education about gambling to middle and high school students and young military members, especially those under 25," said Chu, the addiction center director. 

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]