South Korean police have dismantled a massive online gambling ring worth 4 trillion won ($2.84 billion), apprehending 50 suspects accused of running the online operation since 2019 and employing deepfake technology to lure new users, according to the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency on Friday. According to police, out of 50 suspects, 13 have been arrested, including the website operator in his 40s.
The remaining 37 have been forwarded to prosecutors. From October 2019 until March 2024, the 50 suspects allegedly operated gambling sites after placing their servers overseas, in countries such as the Philippines and Thailand, with operational offices in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, as well as Incheon. Police added that those who oversaw promoting the gambling website and recruiting new members into their program did so with gambling broadcasts through YouTube while also using deepfake technology to alter their faces and voices to those of celebrities.
The deepfake technology was used to avoid the exposure of the promoters’ identities and to also stimulate gamblers' interest, according to police. Once users signed up to become regular members of the website, they could bet large sums of money on online casino programs and sports betting game Sports Toto, a legal form of sports gambling that it had allegedly altered illegally. To conceal the flow of funds, users were required to convert cash into an online currency through a specific application, from which users were only allowed.
