The Korea Racing Authority (한국마사회, KRA) is staging an eight-race Thursday programme at Let’s Run Park Jeju (렛츠런파크 제주) on 10 September. Spectators will not be admitted, and betting is available exclusively through DerbyOn (더비온), KRA’s official mobile platform.
A second digital-only meeting is scheduled for 17 September.
The experiment should help answer a simple commercial question: can KRA support an additional racing day without opening its physical customer network?
Eight races, one channel
DerbyOn began nationwide operations in June 2024, following an amendment to the Korea Racing Authority Act (한국마사회법) that legalised online horse-race betting.
Previously, legal wagers were largely tied to KRA’s three racecourses and 26 off-track betting branches. DerbyOn allowed customers to bet remotely, although access remained more restricted than through a conventional gambling app.
Users must be at least 21 and complete an initial face-to-face identity check. They must also register a personal mobile device and a bank account in their own name. The online limit is KRW50,000 per person per race—approximately US$36—half the KRW100,000 limit permitted through physical channels.
The platform has generally operated alongside KRA’s established venues. Customers at home, at a racecourse and inside an off-track branch can all bet on the same programme.
Today’s meeting removes that physical audience. The horses will race in Jeju, but all customer betting activity will take place through DerbyOn.
How KRA’s two digital-only meetings separate racing from its physical betting network. Source: Korea Racing Authority; currency conversions are approximate.
New demand or the same money on another day?
That separation should provide KRA with useful information.
The authority can measure how many customers participate when there is no racecourse audience and no physical betting environment supporting the programme. It can also examine turnover, average stake, activity throughout the card and how many users return for next Thursday’s second meeting.
KRA is supporting the two dates through an online “Race Challenge” event. Promotions may help attract initial participation, but the more important question is what happens to the underlying betting behaviour.
A successful Thursday programme does not necessarily mean DerbyOn has created new demand. Existing customers could simply move part of their normal Friday-to-Sunday spending onto the additional racing day.
To establish whether the format adds value, KRA would need to compare today’s turnover with ordinary Jeju cards and examine whether total weekly wagering increases. It would also need to determine whether DerbyOn attracts less frequent customers or relies primarily on bettors who already use its physical channels.
KRA has not publicly disclosed a turnover target for either Thursday meeting.
Expansion within a controlled system
The trial should not be mistaken for a wider liberalisation of South Korea’s online gambling market.
DerbyOn is a closed, state-controlled system operated by KRA. Its identity requirements, reduced betting limit and in-person registration were central to the political compromise that allowed online horse-race betting to be introduced.
KRA must prepare an annual operating plan for electronic ticket sales and obtain approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (농림축산식품부). The government has presented these controls as safeguards against underage access and excessive gambling.
That creates a delicate balance. Digital-only racing could help KRA reach customers more efficiently and test additional fixtures without operating a complete public venue. But if the format substantially increases betting activity, it may also intensify scrutiny of DerbyOn’s accessibility and responsible-gambling controls.
The most important result will not be whether today’s card attracts attention. It will be whether KRA can demonstrate that digital-only meetings generate additional, sustainable participation without merely shifting existing wagers—or weakening the restrictions under which online racing was approved.
Today’s programme, followed by the second trial on 17 September, should provide the clearest evidence yet.
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East Asia Reports
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Author — Adrià Mas Rodríguez