The FIFA World Cup may still be in its early stages, but it has already sparked a surge in black market activity in Thailand.
As reported by local outlet The Nation, Royal Thai Police have opened 596 cases involving 629 suspects during a nationwide crackdown on gambling between 6 and 14 June.
Police said that 64 cases have been opened involving bookmakers or organisers directly linked to World Cup football betting, with a further 278 cases involving gamblers.
Enforcement action targeted gambling websites, financial channels and the wider network behind illegal betting activities. Across the 596 cases, authorities estimate that more than 2.15bn baht moved through the networks.
Even before the World Cup began, authorities in Thailand had anticipated such activity.
At the beginning of the month, the police said that they had identified 309 online gambling websites as priority targets for action in May and June. Authorities are also seeking to monitor and prevent young people from being involved in online gambling during the tournament.
Police Lieutenant General Trairong Phiwphan, Deputy Spokesperson for the Royal Thai Police, warned: “The World Cup should be a festival of sport, not a festival of gambling.”
Thailand piles pressure on Meta
Alongside targeting World Cup activity, officials in Thailand have also taken aim at Meta’s perceived inaction over scam ads appearing on its platform.
The Thailand Consumers Council (TCC) has filed a lawsuit against the tech giant, seeking to hold Meta accountable for the adverts and push for greater consumer protections, including proactive advertising screening and a victim compensation mechanism.
The legal action adds to the pressure building on Meta and other social media platforms over the appearance of illegal gambling content on their platforms.
Earlier this week, Entain shared published findings from open-source research which found underage social media users are being bombarded with content from unregulated gambling platforms through influencers, tipsters, brand ambassadors and AI-generated personas.
Meanwhile, speaking on the iGaming Daily podcast, Gambling Commission Executive Director Tim Miller shared his own anger at the perceived lack of action being taken by companies like Meta.
He said: “I find it almost incredible that you read in the news all of these kinds of tech billionaires competing to be the first one to put a man on Mars. They think they can deliver that. Yet, they seem to claim that they are incapable of stopping non-GamStop ads appearing on their platforms. I mean, that’s just nonsensical.
“If they don’t play their role – and frankly they’re not at the moment – it massively undermines the efforts that the rest of us are putting in place.”
