Thailand eliminates over 200 betting websites in Euro 2024 tournament

Law enforcement agencies of Thailand have announced that they have shut down 224 betting websites linked to illicit gambling activities in the Euro 2024 football tournament.

The announcement follows the conclusion of Euro 2024, which took place from June 14 to July 14, revealing a crackdown that targeted both on-site and online gambling, disrupting over 2.4 billion baht (US$66.3 million) in illegal gambling flows.

Starting from the tournament’s onset, a special police task force was deployed to curb the spike in gambling expected with this large-scale sporting event which is held every four years.

Assistant National Police Chief Akradet Pimolsri detailed that 3,863 suspects were arrested in connection with various gambling-related offences, including operators and participants.

Efforts were not limited to digital platforms; raids on physical gambling dens led to 3,017 arrests. Akradet noted that these included 50 bookmakers and 2,944 punters. On the digital front, the crackdown led to 846 further arrests from the shutdown websites, including 145 operators running these illegal gambling hubs.