Authorities in Thailand are set to launch a large-scale campaign against illegal online gambling operators ahead of this month’s FIFA World Cup.

According to the Bangkok Post, law enforcement agencies have identified 309 online gambling websites as key targets for enforcement action in May and June. Reports indicate that arrests have already been made in relation to several of these platforms.

Lieutenant General Trairong Piwpan, Deputy Director of the Technology Crime Suppression Centre, noted that police have been instructed to monitor the situation and prevent young people from being drawn into online gambling during the tournament, which kicks off on June 11.

Thailand has joined Indonesia and Hong Kong in expressing concern that the World Cup could fuel the expansion of illegal gambling markets across Asia.

The tournament is expected to set new betting records, with total wagers potentially exceeding $60 billion, according to estimates by H2 Gambling Capital — up 71% compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Thai authorities also reported that more than 717,000 URLs were blocked between October 2025 and May 2026, including pages on Facebook and TikTok. This effort will continue through the rest of the year.

The scale of the ongoing crackdown and the comprehensive measures against illegal operators highlight the seriousness of the threat posed by the black market during the summer tournament, as new audiences are drawn into betting.

The operation comes amid data from the Technology Crime Suppression Centre showing that more than 4 million Thai citizens aged 15 to 25, part of Generation Z, have already engaged in online gambling.

The centre also noted that influencers are being actively used to attract users, promoting the idea of achieving significant and rapid wealth through gambling.

It is further highlighted that such platforms have gradually moved away from using mule accounts for payment transfers, instead relying on corporate accounts, cross-border intermediaries, and cryptocurrency transactions.

Thailand’s illegal gambling market is estimated to be worth around 1.1 trillion baht (approximately $30 billion) annually, with football betting accounting for the largest share at about 270.4 billion baht (around $7.5 billion).

Piwpan added that police have begun using artificial intelligence to detect illegal gambling content, improving the effectiveness of efforts against black market platforms.

 

 

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