Dear reader, welcome to our ultimate guide on South Korean online betting, the Republic of Korea. This article contains a list of the best betting sites in Korea where you can start with if you wish to bet on Seoul’s e-sports events, K League football matches or perhaps the latest KBO League game.
Online gambling is increasingly popular in South Korea (Dae Han Min Guk). Before, many Koreans were scared to gamble (내기하다) with betting agents and websites not approved by the government. Ultimately, this was treated as a very serious offence such that it was even a crime for Koreans to gamble while on vacation in another nation.
These days, South Korea has allowed different types of gambling in the country. You can bet on horse racing, cycling and boat racing at designated places. As for sports betting, state-run national lottery has two products: Sports Toto and Sports Proto.
Sports Toto is a form of betting that, as its name implies, was launched in October 2001. Football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, golf and more will be the games you can bet on. The prize money from bets is divided into two; some of it goes to the government while the remaining amount is shared among those who predicted correctly.
Sports Proto is a version of fixed odds betting that resembles the type of betting found in Asian bookies. Sports Proto will calculate your winning possibilities and indicate your payout at the time you place your bet, since they recognize your odds. The only problem is that their payouts are not as high as those you would find on foreign sites and also, there are only two sports, baseball and basketball, on which one can gamble.
When you do online betting from South Korea, it is vital that you employ foreign bookies, foreign kinds of money and foreign banking systems. Sports Toto as well as Sports Proto propose a few forms of sports gambling only whereas any sites in Korea taking collection and payout agents are illegal.
Setting up to gamble online in Korea is not as easy as it seems. You have to get yourself an e-Wallet in Euros, this involved being verified by them and the bookies (this may also involve needing a UK ID and utility bill), and you might need a VPN to bypass ISP blocks that redirect gambling sites to “warning.or.kr”.
Do not be afraid, there are answers to these obstacles. We would like you to read our following set of instructions; this is about online gambling specifically from Korea and how to register for it as well as wager on your best games.
To send money to online bookmakers, you would require an e-wallet. An e-wallet is equally an internet bank. For this reason, we suggest NETELLER. In Korea, many banks do not transfer USD to NETELLER; therefore, select EUR as your account currency.
You can transfer money into NETELLER by doing a wire transfer after you have opened your account. If you use online banking, you can do this through the Internet. The money will take several days to be reflected in your NETELLER account.
If your bank inquires about the purpose of the NETELLER bank wire, do not tell them you are going to gamble or bet with it. They will probably stop allowing you to make wire transfers. If they ask, perhaps you could tell them it is for a UK company’s foreign investment. In terms of which company, simply say that it is an online business. It is not a lie; rather it is just saying little in order not to provide too many details.
Once you invest in NETELLER, it allows you to buy a no cost NET+ MasterCard in euro. This is an ATM card that can be used as a MasterCard or alternatively, withdraw NETELLER money from the ATM as cash.
Indeed, when you reside in Korea, you will have to utilize NET+ Card for South Korean won (₩) which is just alright. For this reason, Neteller will automatically convert your euro balance to won. The fee charged by them amounts to 2.5%, an amount which is lower than what many banks charge for the exchange of currencies.
Open an account with your local Korean bank, and wire transfer funds to it. NETELLER deposits are offered by all the bona fide sports betting sites via their cashier system online.
You sign in to your online betting account and then transfer money from your NETELLER account balance. From this site, you can bet sports or play casino or poker. When you win and want to get paid, go to their cashier and ask for a withdrawal through NETELLER. The sum will be transferred in 12-24 hours after the online bookmaker gets it to your NETELLER account.
From that point, the other betting websites can be funded through the use of NETELLER money or, on the other hand, you may also decide to withdraw cash from your NETELLER. Alternatively, if you want to take out money from your account; you could use NET+ MasterCard either at an ATM or in a store (or website) which accepts MasterCard. It is like any debit card – one can only spend what is available.
Online bookmakers and e-wallets will at some point ask you to submit a photographic ID as well as a proof of your residence.
When taking a photo ID, the best option is to use passport if available. If used as photo IDs, foreign online bookmakers are wary of Korean Citizen cards and driving licenses. For fast processing (3 days), one can apply for a Korean passport at any of the 14 provincial offices or local city hall where it takes 7-10 days for the card processing. The cost of obtaining it is KRW 55,000.
What’s often more difficult is authentication of addresses. A copy of a recent utility bill that is in Korean, not English will be required from you. Rejection may mean the site requires you to send them a certified translation. This can prove costly so explain this to your bookmaker on the internet and find out if it’s possible for you to use document for address registration instead
If you want this kind of thing, go to your local district office (Dong-Samuso) and ask for an English translation of your registration document with your address. An alternative may be to request the online bookmaker to accept an English bank statement as a proof of address (all Korean banks will provide such statements in English upon request).
However, the government of Korea has no control over foreign bookmakers. This is because their websites are legally based in and licensed by a European country and they are permissible in terms of international legislation. The only reason why the Korean government takes these actions is to prevent the outflow of revenues from Sports Toto. It accomplishes this through blocking access to selected overseas gambling websites.
These websites could work as well as they can lead you to “warning.or.kr” URL. In order to unblock it, you can buy a Singaporean VPN for around fifteen US dollars per month. It is very easy to install and if needed their service representatives are there to support you.
Now that you’ve managed to create an e-wallet with a cash card and appropriate ID cards, then bypassed the ISP restrictions, you are prepared to access international gambling sites in Korea.
But why prefer one foreign operator to Sports Toto or Sports Proto? One of the benefits of wagering on our suggested websites is larger incentives, improved chances, additional betting markets, and greater diversity. We only endorse sites that are licensed and have a good name for providing an amazing experience.
In the few past years, South Korea has transformed into a sporting giant capable of accomplishing anything. A nation of sports enthusiasts and heavy investment in community level sports have seen Korea produce some of the world’s top athletes – for example, Son Heung-Min who is a football legend or Inbee Park who plays professional golf.
Despite the fact that there are traditional sports such as Taekwondo, Jokgu and Ssireum which are very popular among locals, it is the global ones that attract the most attention of bettors. Korean’s best betting sites have good odds on all things from esports latest events to football matches and Ballon d’Or winner.
These are the four most popular sports for betting in Korea:
Lots of young Koreans imagine becoming pro gamers. The city is full of PC bangs or game rooms and various esports events are shown on TV. It is home to Nexon Arena and OGN Esports Stadium, two top-notch facilities where the world’s best gamers and hundreds of enthusiasts come for major competitions.
Korea based betting sites will offer you the best odds for League of Legends (LoL), DOTA 2, StarCraft, PUGB, FIFA and every other multiplayer game out there. It is a surprise that CS:GO betting isn’t as popular in the country as it is in Europe where most professional players have shifted from playing first person shooters to VALORANT. On our recommended betting sites, you can bet on any player or team that you love.
South Koreans are fond of watching baseball and placing bets on the same. Baseball was brought to Korea in 1905 by American missionaries and has been increasingly popular ever since. The KBO League (formerly known as Korea Professional Baseball League) was established in 1982 with six teams which has now grown to ten. Kia Tigers is the most successful team in Korean baseball history.
There are many betting chances with each team participating in 144 games during the season. The KBO League ends up in its championship series referred to as the KBO Korean Series. Top five teams move into an ascending play-off series that involves a wild card game, semi-playoffs, playoffs and best of seven for a title. The top Korean bookies also take bets on Japan’s NPB and MLB in USA.
South Korea’s most popular sports league is the KBO League, but football is also huge in this country. The K League 1 is the highest tier of South Korean soccer, and it is Asia’s oldest professional soccer league. In addition to betting on which team will win K League 1 or 2 or each game, these best Korean bookmakers also provide odds for the Korean FA Cup and AFC Champions League.
The South Korean national football team, popularly known as the “Reds”, has made more FIFA World Cup appearances than any other Asian nation. In 2002, when South Korea co-hosted the tournament with Japan, it became the first Asian team to ever make it to the semifinals of the world cup. The team has also won various AFC Asian Cup tournaments and had a couple of medals in Asian Games too.
South Korea has more than 500 breathtaking golf courses, among them, the prestigious Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea located in Incheon and New Korea Country Club in Goyang-si. Korean Golf fans spend leisure time engaging in either playing games at local courses or watching tournaments organized by PGA Asian tour, PGA European Tour, LPGA etc.
Every major golf tournament has odds offered by the best betting sites in South Korea. Some favorite markets are who will win, who will be ahead after the first round and whether anybody will make a hole-in-one among others. It is possible to bet on any of K.J. Choi, Yang Yong-eun, Park Sung-hyun, Pak Se-ri and Jaekyeong Lee at our suggested websites as they play at higher levels for Korea.
For many years, Korean citizens could only legally participate in the lottoilbo (lottery) and engage in horse racing, boat racing or bicycle racing. South Korea became a UN member in 1991. The police began to be less strict about many gambling laws when they realized that tourism was a major sector.
1997 saw the birth of Sports Toto in Korea, which currently provides fixed odds and running odds bets on popular Korean sports.
The year 2000 marks a significant development in South Korea’s history as casinos were legalized. There are currently eight casinos on Cheju-do (Jeju-do) Island, three in Seoul, three in Kyongju, two in Incheon and Busan each. Additionally, Jeongseongun, Pusan, Pyeong Chang gun and Sokch’o City each have one casino.
Varieties of games found in Korean casinos consist of slots, video poker, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, daisai (tai sai), 7 Luck 21, 3-card poker, Caribbean stud poker, big wheel, Texas Hold’em poker and casino war.
There was a big push in 2011 to ease gambling laws and make Korean gambling more accessible. This includes Mr. Jung Byung-Guk, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sport who said that he would work for abolition of the old-fashioned Korean gambling statues so that all Koreans can enter foreigner-only casinos in Korea.
PokerStars ran a high stakes poker tournament in South Korea the following year. APPT Seoul, which was held by Pokerstars the following year, had 268 players who paid the entry fee of KRW 3,000,000 each. Andrew Kim won at last and took home KRW 717,489,000 as first-place prize money.
Korea has not changed its gambling laws for years, but this has seen a lot of changes. The police work hard to stop (and punish anyone involved with) match fixing (cheating) and mafia-run betting operations. To ensure your safety, we advise you to utilize any of our preferred Korean betting websites.
The natives think that the greatest Korean betting sites are those by international operators even though you can bet through Sports Toto and Sports Proto. The gambling platforms have great sign up bonuses for Koreans, they provide competitive odds on a range of sports and there is a big choice of excellent sites.
Korea is a country that distinguishes between Koreans and non-Koreans, allowing tourists to visit casinos located in Seoul and Kyongju. The Kangwon Land Casino opened its doors to South Koreans only in 2016.
It is unfortunate that there are only a limited number of online betting sites where the official currency of South Korea is accepted. We advise you to choose euros since it’s unlikely that you will find South Korean Won (KRW) when opening an account because most Korean banks do not transfer United States dollar (USD) to payment services like NETELLER.
A. The most excellent Korean bookmaking sites have a multiplicity of ways through which deposits can be made. Discretion is very essential in online gambling, especially when playing from South Korea; we would thus recommend the use of e-wallets such as NETELLER and Skrill. These wallets can be funded by entering email addresses directly or through depositing at betting websites.
