Thailand clamps down on world cup gambling promotion

Bangkok authorities are cleaning up pre-World Cup gambling in a multi-pronged approach, one of which will target celebrities and stores who promote betting portal services, a report in the Bangkok Post (Tuesday) says.

Around 100 celebrities and online beauty presenters are reportedly in the firing line with Royal Thai Police preparing summons for promotion of illegal football gambling websites.

If convicted, they could face a 1,000 baht fine or even a year in jail, Phanurat Lakboon, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau said Monday, communicating a reminder that gambling advertising and inducements to gamble are prohibited according to Thai law.

Underage gambling will also be under the spotlight with Thai authorities advising parents to become more vigilant over the World Cup period or face legal action for breaching the Child Protection Act.

In support of the initiative, awareness campaigns will be run at over 30,000 schools across the nation, Police Major General Phanurat said, providing education on the illegal status of gambling in the country.

In addition, the identification of online domains offering football gambling services in Thailand has begun, with authorities warning operators that they will face immediate legal action.

The anti-gambling campaign is already well underway with The Bangkok Post reporting 722 arrests for alleged involvement in football gambling since May 1, 2018. Five of these were reportedly gambling service providers, 715 gamblers and two were service provider employees.

The report cites that the Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce estimates that an additional 78.3 billion Thai baht will circulate in the economy during the period, of which 60 billion Thai Baht will be channeled through undocumented transactions and gambling.

Read the Bangkok Post report here.

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