High-Stakes Poker Game Leads To Monk Resignations

The game of poker has become one of the fastest growing hobbies in the world over the past decade, and the game has spread to places where gambling was always prohibited. Now, poker has become the central topic in South Korea, with major religious organizations caught up in a scandal.

The largest Buddhist organizations have been dealing with the fallout of six monks resigning their positions after it was learned that the religious leaders were involved in a high-stakes poker game. The game, according to Seongho, the head of the Jogye order, said that the stakes rose to around $900,000 during the game. Seongho apologized publicly for the embarrassment the scandal has created.

South Korea is one of the most religious countries in the world, and the government has a policy prohibiting gambling in any other avenues outside of race tracks or regulated casinos. Religious groups take it one step further, looking down on all forms of gambling.

"Basically, Buddhist rules say don't steal," said Seongho. "Look at what they did, they abused money from Buddhists for gambling."

The scandal has had a ripple effect throughout South Korea, with many Buddhist' ripping the establishment and the leaders that were involved with the gambling. The scandal, however, has opened an even deeper discussion in the country over what many believe are outdated policies regarding gambling.

"These types of scandals are going to continue to arise in countries where gambling is prohibited because poker has become one of the most popular games in the world," said Gaming Analyst Brad Dawkins. "That is why we are seeing so many countries not only open up their countries to land-based casinos, but online casinos as well."

The outrage in South Korea comes from a group that believes there is unsavory practices taking place within the ranking officials. South Koreans have come out and pleaded with religious leaders to seek out and eliminate the members of their organization that are taking part in these unsavory acts.

May 12, 2012
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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