Jockeying for cash: North Korea allows racetrack gambling as sanctions bite

SEOUL (Reuters) - Punters in North Korea who once risked three years hard labour for gambling are now able to bet on local horse races as the isolated country scrambles to unearth new sources of hard currency amid intensifying international sanctions.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been building resorts, swimming pools and other luxurious leisure facilities in what experts say is a bid to capture some of the individual wealth generated by growing private markets for goods and services.