Abstract
With the rapid expansion of the gambling industry in Asian markets over the past decade, South Korea has implemented policies seeking to expand entertainment gambling while simultaneously seeking to reduce possible harms from problem gambling. In 2016, the mandatory electronic players’ card (EPC) system was adopted into specific Korean horse and cycling venues to discourage problem gambling behaviors since it prohibits large bets, while permitting other venues to autonomously operate EPC systems. This study compares preliminary data from mandatory versus autonomous venues to explore how EPC systems impact gambling behaviors, revenues, and policies. Overall, electronic cards were more widely adopted in mandatory venues for horse betting and in autonomous venues for cycling betting. Analyses indicate that larger bets were placed at both horse- and cycle-betting venues with autonomous card registration versus mandatory venues. While the EPC system mitigated problem gambling behaviors in horse betting, this impact was not observed for cycle betting. Such differences indicate that users across different types of sport betting exhibit somewhat distinct characteristics and behaviors in using electronic cards, which could shed light on the sustainable gambling strategy of adopting technology-driven EPC systems in sport betting not only in South Korea but also elsewhere around the world.
Highlights
With the rapid expansion of the gambling industry in Asian markets over the past decade, South Korea has implemented policies seeking to expand entertainment gambling while simultaneously seeking to reduce possible harms from problem gambling
Mandatory-type venues require the use of electronic cards only when betting at least KRW 50,000 (USD 45 based on a conversion rate of $1 USD 1110 KRW), while autonomous-type venues permit bets to be placed in cash or through electronic cards in all bet amount ranges. e key variables to be compared between mandatory-type versus autonomous-type venues include the following: (1) average purchase amount per ticket issued, (2) average purchase amount per person, (3) total number of tickets issued per person, and (4) the proportion of tickets in each betting range among the total number of tickets issued
Average betting amount per ticket and per person by cash was statistically significantly higher in autonomous-type venues than in mandatory-type venues (KRW 14,307 versus KRW 12,597 for per ticket betting; KRW 546,038 versus KRW 479,493 for per person betting), but average amount of betting per person by electronic card was statistically indifferent between the two types of venues. e gap in per ticket average betting between cash and electronic card purchases was larger in mandatory-type venues (KRW 1,731 for mandatory versus KRW 1,172 for autonomous), while autonomous-type venues had a larger gap in per person average betting between cash and electronic card purchases (KRW 418,209 for mandatory versus KRW 489,150 for autonomous)
Summary
With the rapid expansion of the gambling industry in Asian markets over the past decade, South Korea has implemented policies seeking to expand entertainment gambling while simultaneously seeking to reduce possible harms from problem gambling. The increasing middle class of Mainland China and change in attitudes toward gambling have resulted in competitive markets rising across Asia to attract tax dollars and revenues, with Korea seeking to attract its share of casino tourism revenues with the adoption of more liberalized legalized gambling policies [4]. Toward this end, and in keeping with worldwide trends expanding gaming in Asian markets, Korea has implemented gradual regulations since the late 2000s by executing a multistep plan by the Korean National Gambling Control Commission (hereinafter the “NGCC”). Patrons may place two or more bets simultaneously in machines or at tables at the KRW 100,000 maximum amount, thereby bypassing EPC restrictions
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