1. Reason for Revision

In accordance with the “4th Comprehensive Plan for the Sound Development of the Gambling Industry (2024-2028)” of the National Gambling Control Commission (NGCC), the partial revision aims to change the cycle for the on-site investigation of each sector of the gambling industry from two years to one year in order to reflect the plan when establishing the annual policy; to change the composition of the subcommittees by dividing the Control and Monitoring Subcommittee into the National Gambling Control Subcommittee and the Illegal Gambling Monitoring Subcommittee in order to establish policies that reflect the specificity of each industry sector and to strengthen responses to the illegal gambling industry, which is a social issue; and to change the exception and adjustment criteria for application of the total amount of gambling industry sales, such as excluding foreign casino businesses, which are controversial in terms of the effectiveness of the total amount of gambling industry sales, from the application of the total amount for the gambling industry sales, and using the surplus as an incentive mechanism for the sound development of the gambling industry.

Further, the revision provides for an annual investigation of youth gambling behaviors and patterns in accordance with Article 14 (1) 7 of the Act in order to produce continuous and stable statistics related to youth gambling and secure the reliability of nationally approved data, to establish the basis for processing personal information in order to carry out the work of confirming the reasons for disqualification of the members in accordance with Article 10 of the Act, and to reorganize the wording and citation of relevant provisions according to the revision to the National Gambling Control Commission Act (Law No. 19482) (June 20, 2023).

2. Main Contents

A. Change in the cycle of the on-site investigation of each sector of the gambling industry (Article 2 (2) of the draft)

As demands are being made continuously to reflect the prevalence rate in addiction prevention and treatment charges and the health evaluations conducted by the National Gambling Control Commission, the revision aims to change the cycle of the on-site investigation of each sector of the gambling industry from once every two years to once per year, so that it may serve as the basis for the establishment and evaluation of an annual policy.

B. Reorganization of the subcommittees (Article 4 (1) of the draft)

In order to establish policies that reflect the special characteristics of each sector of the gambling industry and to strengthen responses to the illegal gambling industry, which is a major social issue, the revision aims to abolish the investigation, research, and publicity subcommittees and divide the current Control and Monitoring Subcommittee into the National Gambling Control Subcommittee and the Illegal Gambling Monitoring Subcommittee.

C. Cycle of the investigation of youth gambling behaviors (Newly established Article 8-2 of the draft)

In order to produce continuous and stable statistics related to youth gambling, which is a pressing social problem, and to secure the reliability of nationally approved data, the revision provides for an investigation of youth gambling behaviors every year in accordance with Article 14 (1) 7 of the Act.

D. Establishing a basis for processing sensitive information and identification information (Newly established Article 15 of the draft)

In order to perform the work of confirming the reasons for the disqualification of members according to Article 10 of the Act, the Committee may process data containing criminal records and resident registration numbers if necessary.

E. Changes to the exception and adjustment criteria for the application of the total amount for the gambling industry sales (Attached Table of the draft)

Currently, foreign casino businesses are also included in the scope of the total amount for the gambling industry sales, but the National Assembly and other organizations have continuously raised issues about its effectiveness. Therefore, the revision changes the exception and adjustment criteria, such as excluding foreign casino businesses from the application of the total amount for the gambling industry sales, and using the resulting surplus as an incentive mechanism for the sound development of the gambling industry.