Today we will talk about South Korea and consider the specifics of working with gambling in this geo. This Asian country is a profitable geo for traffic driving in 2024. There is a large audience here that is fond of playing in casinos. The competition is not as overwhelming as in Europe, and the cost of traffic is low, so South Korea is a country with big potential for driving traffic to the gambling vertical for both beginners and professionals. Our team has gathered information on different aspects of gambling in South Korea, including its legal status, market regulations and different cases.
South Korea: Brief Geo Information
South Korea, or the Republic of Korea, is a country in Asia classified as Tier-2, known for its high standard of living. One peculiar aspect of this geo is that it’s considered exotic for affiliates, resulting in relatively few webmasters targeting it. Due to low competition, the cost per click is lower. However, some of our cases demonstrate excellent results in gambling lead generation in Korea.
The population of South Korea is 51.8 million, with 98% being internet users. The majority of the population is solvent, with around 85% of residents being over 18 years old.
Average monthly salary: $3,200.
Currency: South Korean won.
Language: Korean. Creatives should be made only in this language.
Legal Status of Gambling in South Korea and Target Audience Specifics
Online gambling is prohibited in Korea. Violation of this law can result in severe punishments and imprisonment. Mind this, as well as information from the Chambers and Partners Global Practice Guide, when considering driving iGaming traffic to South Korea.
Anyway, there is only one official offline casino, Kangwon Land, where Koreans can come and play. In other places, gambling is not allowed, only tourists from other countries have the right to play there.
However, this doesn’t stop the audience from choosing online casinos. Koreans play on websites that are not under the regulators’ jurisdiction. To access international casino websites, Koreans use VPNs. Since the government blocks card payments, the preferred payment method for casino services and deposits is cryptocurrency.
Both men and women have an interest in gambling in South Korea. Therefore, traffic should not be limited to men only. You can target different segments: young people and girls.
If the casino provides betting offers, it’s a bonus. Koreans enjoy placing bets on sports. Most favorite sports include baseball, football, taekwondo, and also esports.
The audience has a particular feature that may seem like an obstacle: a lot of Korean users are overwhelmed with advertising, so it’s difficult to surprise them. However, with the right approach, you can achieve good ROI for your campaigns. People literally live on the internet, never parting with their smartphones. They are also looking for gambling entertainment and are ready to try new things.
Top Traffic Sources
According to Similarweb, the most popular platforms having the majority of the audience are:
- Google;
- YouTube;
- Twitter;
- Instagram;
- Facebook;
- KakaoTalk – a popular messenger that can be used as an alternative source of traffic, although advertising iGaming topics is debatable.
The top sources to try first are Facebook, ASO, and PPC.
When targeting these sources, you can focus on:
- Operating systems: Android, iOS, Windows.
- Popular browsers: Chrome, Samsung, Safari.
- Popular telecom operators: SK Telecom, KT, LGU+, D’Live, CMB.
Approaches and Ideas for Creatives
Let’s take a look at ideas and working approaches that can be tested in your promotional materials and creatives to capture the Korean audience:
- Unusual, unconventional creatives. Remember that Koreans are picky when it comes to advertising and may not pay attention to cliché creatives. When preparing an ad or banner, it’s always important to remember that the goal is to attract attention, to surprise. You can achieve it by breaking patterns of perception;
- Video content. Koreans spend a lot of time watching videos on YouTube. Video ads are preferred over static formats. An emotional approach works well: showing different people celebrating wins, followed by a call to download the casino app and make a deposit;
- Event marketing. Statistics show that conversions are always higher during holidays. Koreans are hard workers, and during holidays, they prefer to relax, including playing online casinos and betting on sports. Here are some holidays that can be tied to campaigns and mentioned in creatives: 01.01 – Seollal or New Year, 01.03 – Independence Movement Day, 05.05 – Children’s Day, 8th day of the 4th month – Buddha’s Birthday, 06.06 – Memorial Day, 15.08 – Liberation Day and the second holiday – Chuseok; 03.10 – National Foundation Day, 08.10 – Hangeul Day, 25.12 – Christmas;
- Local currency and foreign cars. You can try an approach with local currency and expensive cars in the background. Cases show that this can work. Remember, if the creative storyline involves receiving winnings into a bank account, the interface of a local bank should be used;
- Experts and celebrities. If the offer rules do not prohibit the use of photos or statements from famous people, this can also be used. Koreans trust authority figures and opinion leaders, and they perceive advertising from a celebrity more favorably;
- Bright slots. You can use the classic approach with slot machines, but they should be bright and stand out from other advertisements;
- Korean girls. Find photos of attractive Korean women – it can increase conversion rates by attracting attention;
- Storytelling. Storytelling can work well if a landing page is used in the funnel: a story about how a hero became rich after seeing a casino ad and deciding to deposit.
What not to use:
- Nudity;
- Promises of freebies, quick and easy winnings. Koreans are financially literate and easily recognize scams.
Examples of Gambling Creatives
Example 1, approach with a car and money (“He bought a car… thanks to this way of earning money”):
Example 2, approach with Korean women (“Casino, casino”):
Example 3, approach with graphics and character (“Casino, casino”):
Example 4, advertising a betting offer, approach with a girl (“200,000 won and 150 free spins Promo code SPORT for a 200% deposit”):
Case-Study
Although it’s a bit hard to find case studies from 2024 yet, there are cases from other years. For example, here’s a case study from a Russian webmaster, published on rss.rip. The author of the case-study was promoting a gambling offer in South Korea. Here are some key things:
- Offer type: iGaming offer
- Source of traffic: Facebook
- Payment model: CPL, $18 for every registration
- Expenses: $6,906.05
- Revenue: $16,926.00
- Profit: $10,019.95
- ROI: 150%
If you’re interested in details, read the original article (but you’ll have to translate it from Russian – well, what can you do… we had to do it too).
Conclusion
South Korea is a geo with a big potential for gambling offers: many affiliates simply do not consider this country for gambling, without understanding how to work with it. Meanwhile, many people here like to spin slots, play roulette, and other online casino games. Advertisers accept traffic from virtually all popular sources and are willing to pay good money. The geo is attracting good volumes, and in February it entered the top 5 countries in terms of volumes.
