UNODC warns that Southeast Asian youth are being lured into online gambling

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report in Bangkok warning that young gamers in South‑East Asia are increasingly exposed to online gambling. The agency says the line between online gaming and gambling is blurring as criminal groups exploit game design to attract minors, combining gambling with other illicit services such as drug trafficking, illegal firearms and child sexual exploitation. According to UNODC regional representative Delphine Schantz, organised crime syndicates have shifted from territorial, single‑crime operations to transnational, tech‑driven networks that use a corporate‑franchise model to launder money and sell cyber‑enabled fraud services. The report estimates annual losses from scams across East Asia, South‑East Asia, Australia and New Zealand at between USD 88.3 billion and USD 114.1 billion for 2025, a figure that exceeds the GDP of many countries in the region. UNODC calls for coordinated law‑enforcement action and stronger safeguards to protect vulnerable youth.