CHONBURI — More than 100 people have been arrested for participating in an illegal football betting ring, police say.
Five dealers, five coordinators, and 131 gamblers were arrested in Chonburi province for betting on 2014 World Cup matches, said Pol. Col. Suvichat Yankitikul. Police also seized 56,000 baht, nine computers, and articles valued at 285,690 baht in the raid.
The raid was part of a nationwide police effort to crack down on illegal football gambling rings. At least 567 people have been arrested so far.
The Royal Thai Police, who set up a World Cup 2014 Gambling Prevention and Suppression Center last week, say they are closely monitoring illegal gambling websites with the help of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Pol. Col. Suvichat said they will consider freezing the bank accounts of suspected dealers if the problem persists.
Economists at the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce estimated that 43.5 billion baht will be spent on gambling in connection this year’s World Cup tournament.
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