Twelve people have been referred to the prosecution and five others have been red-noticed globally on suspicion of operating an illegal online gambling site, handling over 60 billion won ($43.36 million) in stakes, police said Monday. The 17 suspects, all in their 20s and 30s, are accused of amassing more than 3 billion won in criminal proceeds by running illicit sports betting, online casino and slot game platforms between November 2022 and July 2025 in areas including Incheon, west of Seoul, and the southeastern city of Ulsan, according to Ulsan police. They actively sought to trick users into playing by streaming YouTube live broadcasts that falsely depicted high win rates and massive payouts, the police said. To maximize visibility, they reportedly deployed self-developed traffic manipulation program and even established a dedicated promotion team to inflate view counts and real-time viewer numbers, pushing their promotional videos to the top of YouTube search and recommendation feeds. The police said they launched an investigation in March last year based on a tip-off and tracked d