South Korea will export K-cycling and K-motorboat racing as global betting markets through the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA). 

This was announced at a ceremony held by the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO) in London, where it reached a gold standard in integrity by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IBIA.

The agreement particularly focuses on protecting betting integrity around cycling and motorboat racing, both popular sports among South Korean bettors.

This represents not only a milestone for Korean sports but also for the IBIA, as signing an MOU with an Asian national sports body is the first of its kind for the global integrity organisation.

On signing the MoU with the KSPO, Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, commented: “This agreement marks an important step forward, not only for KSPO and the integrity of K-Cycle and K-Motorboat Racing, but for the advancement of betting integrity standards across Asia. 

“IBIA is delighted to support KSPO in setting a benchmark for clean, transparent and accountable sports betting operations in the region. We look forward to building on this partnership and helping to protect the integrity of K-Sports’ products.”

Besides cycling and motorboat racing, horse racing is also legal to place a bet on in South Korea. Other types of allowed gambling include lottery tickets, sports toto, and land-based wagering at Kangwon Land Casino venues – with all three verticals being state-run.

South Korea’s betting market recorded around 25.5 trillion Korean won of total sales (€15.bn) in 2024, with approximately 22.86 million players on the market. 

Cycling and motorboat racing alone brought in annual sales of 1.9 Korean won (€1.17bn) and 12.5 million users, amounting to around 7.5% of total betting industry sales in South Korea for 2024.

Also welcoming of the hallmark agreement for Korean sports was Sung-chul Lee, Director General of the KSPO. He remarked: “Through this agreement, KSPO K-Cycle & K-Motorboat Racing has elevated the status of K-Sports and has taken a leap forward to global standards.” 

“I would like to express my deep gratitude to Khalid Ali and the IBIA officials for their cooperation in making this agreement successful. Following this agreement, we intend to supply the KSPO K-Cycle & K-Motorboat Racing products to the international betting market, protected by this important integrity collaboration.”