Illegal online casino advertisements impersonating major brands like Kangwon Land and Naver are spreading across social media platforms like Facebook. These scams have escalated to using deepfake videos, synthesizing the faces and voices of famous sports stars to lure in unsuspecting users.
As of the 18th, advertisements on Facebook featuring phrases like 'NAVER CASINO,' '500% bonus + 500 free spins,' and 'Play Now' have been appearing repeatedly.
Some ads utilize a green design reminiscent of Naver, prominently displaying the name 'NAVER CASINO' alongside casino slot game screens and large event graphics, making it appear as if Naver itself is operating an online casino.
Most alarmingly, recent campaigns have employed deepfake videos that appear to synthesize the faces and voices of former famous volleyball players, increasing the likelihood that users will mistake them for legitimate celebrity endorsements.
Ads impersonating Kangwon Land are also rampant.
These ads, which use the official Kangwon Land logo, resort imagery, and the Korean flag, feature slogans like 'New online platform opened,' '500% bonus + 500 free spins,' and 'Toss Pay 1-second withdrawals,' deceiving users into believing the real Kangwon Land has launched an online casino.
These tactics were recently confirmed by police investigations.
Last month, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Unit arrested 58 individuals—five of whom were detained—for operating illegal casino sites on overseas servers while impersonating Kangwon Land. The police found that the group used the Kangwon Land logo in social media ads and even produced deepfake videos of famous athletes to promote their services.
Police estimate there are approximately 40,000 domestic users, with gambling funds deposited totaling around 78 billion KRW. The operation used over 70 'borrowed-name' bank accounts, and police have secured approximately 1.5 billion KRW in criminal proceeds for pre-indictment forfeiture.
Previously, the Korea Consumer Agency analyzed 38 illegal online gambling ads on Facebook this year, identifying 24 cases of public institutions like the Ministry of Economy and Finance or Kangwon Land being impersonated, and 14 cases involving manipulated news videos or celebrity likenesses. They have requested that Meta block these advertisements.
The core issue is that despite large-scale arrests and site blocks, similar impersonation ads continue to be reproduced using new accounts, images, and videos.
While Kangwon Land is strengthening its response to illegal gambling in cooperation with the police and the Game Rating and Administration Committee, experts point to the need for a real-time detection and rapid platform-blocking system to combat these new crimes that combine overseas servers, social media ads, and AI deepfakes.
A Kangwon Land representative stated, 'Kangwon Land does not operate any online gambling sites,' and urged the public to be cautious of illegal gambling organizations that steal the name of public enterprises to deceive citizens.
Users are strongly advised not to mistake these sites for official services, even if they feature real corporate names like Naver or Kangwon Land or videos of famous people, and to avoid accessing these sites or depositing any money.
