The Gyeonggi Province Office of Education has formally partnered with South Korea’s Gambling Control Commission (KGCC) to combat youth gambling through a newly signed preventive agreement. This memorandum of understanding, completed on Monday, targets the increasing risk of gambling exposure among schoolchildren via smartphone usage. The initiative focuses on integrating preventive education within broader school initiatives.
The agreement was finalized at Osan Seongho Middle School and ties gambling prevention tactics to a complementary “phone free” strategy. This will be coupled with RAS education, an approach aimed at keeping students engaged through reading, arts, and sports—activities meant to provide structured, screen-free alternatives.
This two-pronged strategy is designed to not only curtail access to gambling-related content on mobile devices but also to diminish dependence on digital screens by offering engaging alternatives. The KGCC, which operates under the prime minister’s office and is tasked with supervising gambling and monitoring illegal activities, will work closely with the Gyeonggi education office on this initiative. Their collaboration will involve policy coordination, student welfare protection, and sharing educational resources and expertise in prevention.
Additionally, the partnership aims to analyze operational data, craft pilot programs, and develop a model suitable for national implementation.
Moving beyond short-lived campaigns, this partnership envisions a long-term, school-centered approach to gambling prevention. The goal is to embed gambling prevention strategies into daily school activities. This will involve restricting smartphone use while integrating engaging RAS activities to help mitigate exposure to gambling content.
At the signing event, An Min-seok, the chief of Gyeonggi education, stressed the urgency of addressing youth gambling issues effectively. He remarked, “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 expressed hope that the agreement would lead to practical policy implementation rather than becoming just a ceremonial event.
South Korea’s initiative joins similar efforts in other markets, such as Ireland, where a national campaign to help parents and guardians identify and respond to underage gambling issues was launched in July. That campaign is being promoted through various channels, including video-on-demand services, radio, digital audio, and social media.
