Second gambling industry policy forum spotlights AI tools to protect users

The gambling industry is moving to build a data-driven addiction prevention system, with proposals put forward to detect at-risk users early through behavioral data analysis and provide tailored intervention.

Kangwon Land and the Korea Racing Authority jointly held the Second Gambling Industry Policy Forum on Monday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, under the theme "The Era of AI Transformation: A Paradigm Shift in User Protection."

The forum was organized to address the limitations of existing prevention efforts — which have largely relied on psychological assessments — and to explore evidence-based, proactive user protection measures using generative AI and user data.

About 100 people attended, including officials from the Integrated Gambling Industry Supervisory Commission, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Center on Gambling Problems, as well as representatives from gambling operators such as Kangwon Land, the Korea Racing Authority, the National Sports Promotion Foundation, Donghang Bokgwon and Cheongdo Public Enterprise, alongside academics and specialists from the AI and software industries.

The program featured a special session, thematic presentations on casinos and horse racing, and a general discussion. The special session showcased the top prize-winning paper from Kangwon Land's 2026 addiction prevention research competition — a digital health overview of gambling problems — followed by an introduction to Kangwon Land's comprehensive user protection plan, which outlined how AI and user data could strengthen protections.

The thematic presentations were divided into two parts. In the first, covering offline domestic casinos, Seo Dong-gi, a professor at Hallym University, presented a model for predicting and evaluating problem users with AI, while Kwon Seon-jung, a professor at Korea Baptist Theological University, presented research on AI-based intervention strategies for at-risk users.

The second part, covering online horse racing, featured a presentation by Lee Young-jin, a department head at the Korea Racing Authority, on building a user protection system using AI and big data. He outlined a stepped approach in which online purchase data is analyzed to identify users at risk of problem gambling, who are then subject to warnings, counseling and betting limit restrictions.

The general discussion that followed brought together panelists including Noh Seung-yong, a professor at Seoul Women's University, Lee Kyung-il, vice chairman of the Korea AI and Software Industry Association, and Kim Kyung-hun, director of Kangwon Land's Maeum Chaeum Center, who exchanged views on user protection.

"It is deeply meaningful that public-sector officials, gambling industry operators, and experts from academia and industry have gathered in one place to share diverse perspectives on user protection for the sound development of the national gambling industry," Kangwon Land CEO Kim Do-gyun said. "Going forward, Kangwon Land will strengthen proactive prevention efforts using AI and user behavioral data, and build an effective user protection framework that can be applied on the ground."