The Gyeonggi Province Office of Education has established a partnership with the Korea Gambling Control Commission (KGCC) to combat youth gambling. The memorandum of understanding, signed on Monday at Osan Seongho Middle School, aims to address the increasing risk of gambling exposure among students via smartphones. This initiative intends to incorporate preventive education within broader school programs.
This agreement links gambling prevention efforts with a strategy promoting a "phone-free" environment, alongside an educational approach known as RAS, which combines reading, arts, and sports. RAS is designed to occupy students with organized, screen-free activities, thereby limiting their exposure to gambling content online and providing healthier alternatives to device usage.
The KGCC, under the prime minister’s office, oversees gambling regulation and illegal gambling monitoring. The commission will work closely with the Gyeonggi education office in crafting policy coordination, protecting students, and sharing educational resources and expertise in prevention.
Additionally, the collaboration will focus on analyzing operational data, developing pilot programs, and creating a model for potential nationwide application.
The initiative aims for a long-term, systematic approach centered on schools to prevent youth gambling and ensure student safeguarding. Instead of temporary campaigns, the focus will be on integrating gambling prevention into daily school life, blending restrictions on smartphone use with captivating RAS activities to effectively prevent students from encountering gambling-related content.
At the signing ceremony, Gyeonggi education chief An Min-seok stressed the urgency of the situation: "To effectively respond to youth gambling problems, close cooperation between the Office of Education, which best understands the school environment, and specialized prevention and treatment institutions is necessary."
He added, "I hope this agreement does not remain a mere event but leads to the implementation of practical policies."
South Korea is joining other countries, such as Ireland, which recently launched a national campaign to aid parents and guardians in identifying and addressing underage gambling. This campaign will reach audiences through various channels, including video-on-demand services, radio, digital audio networks, and social media platforms.
