Kangwon Land turns to AI and data psychology to get ahead of problem gambling

Kangwon Land is building a science-based prevention system that combines AI and data psychology to identify and head off problem gambling among casino visitors before it takes hold.

The company said Friday it held the "2026 Annual Academic Conference Special Symposium" with the Korean Psychological Association at COEX in Seoul's Magok district.

Co-organized by the Kangwon Land Mind Care Center — known by its acronym KLACC — and the Korean Psychological Association, the event aimed to chart a direction for risk-prediction models grounded in big data and data psychology, and to explore a shift toward proactive prevention in step with advances in AI.

About 300 psychologists and opinion leaders from South Korea and abroad attended. The program opened with an awards ceremony for a gambling-problem research competition, followed by a KLACC performance review, expert presentations and a keynote lecture.

Six outstanding research papers were selected at the competition awards ceremony. Kangwon Land said it plans to incorporate the research data and analytical models produced at the symposium into KLACC's internal problem-gambling prevention policy going forward.

In the academic presentation session, Seo Dong-ki, a psychology professor at Hallym University, introduced an AI-based model for identifying high-risk individuals and intervening early, while Kwon Seon-jung, a professor at Korea Baptist Theological University, used the Kangwon Land case to assess the effectiveness of data-driven user-protection systems and outline directions for their development.

Kim Sang-kyun, a professor at Kyung Hee University, then delivered a keynote lecture titled "AI Technology, Gamification and Gambling Algorithms: How They Took Over the Brain," stressing the importance of building intervention frameworks to prevent excessive engagement in digital environments.

"Building a proactive, science-based prevention system using AI and big data is an urgent task," said Kim Gyeong-hun, director of KLACC. "As a specialized institution for gambling-problem prevention, we will continue to do our best to broaden the base of domestic academic research and lead a data-driven culture of user protection."

Building on the results of the conference, Kangwon Land plans to hold the second edition of its public-private-academic "Addiction Prevention Forum" next month to continue its prevention efforts.