Korean Basketball Players Accused Of Match-Fixing

Authorities in South Korea are currently investigating 11 professional basketball players over alleged online gambling and match-fixing, according to the Associated Press.

Police allege that, in one case, a player deliberately missed shots at the end of the game because he had bet on his team losing. The amount is suspected to be the equivalent of $830. The misconduct could go as far back as 2009, the report said. It’s unclear how many games are involved.

A total of 26 basketball players were questioned about their online betting activities, which also included gambling on football and baseball. Less than half are in hot water with the law now.

An indictment is expected to be coming soon, as authorities have only released one name so far. Kim Sun-Hyung, a Seoul SK Knights, was named by police.

Match-fixing allegations are nothing new in South Korean basketball, however.

Kang Dong-hee, former head coach of KBL’s Wonju Dongbu Promy and widely considered the best point guard South Korea has ever produced, received a 10-month prison term in 2013 for receiving money from illegal gambling brokers in exchange for fixing games between February and March 2011.

Last year, South Korea went as far as blocking Zynga poker and other Facebook games in order to curb activity that it considers to be online casino-style gaming.

Meanwhile, South Korea is in the midst of picking which casino developers can build new projects in the country. It was announced in July that there were 34 applicants for casino licenses. South Korea is asking companies to spend at least $890 million on their respective casinos.

The country will be picking two winners as it hopes to capture some gambling revenue from Chinese tourists who aren’t going to Macau anymore.

Chinese tourist arrivals to South Korea grew 42 percent last year to 6.1 million, according to Forbes. Locals would not be allowed to play at the new casinos.

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