Thai Police Arrest 353 For Gambling On Euro 2004

[george]

Thai police arrest 353 for gambling on Euro 2004 soccer matches

BANGKOK: -- In a crackdown on sports betting, police arrested 353 people across Thailand for gambling on Euro 2004 Cup soccer matches during the opening hours of the tournament, a spokesman said Sunday.

The suspects were arrested starting late Saturday, when the opening match between Portugal and Greece was televised locally, a police spokesman said.

Forty-five of the gamblers were apprehended in the Thai capital, Bangkok by late afternoon Sunday. Further details about the arrests were not immediately known.

The suspects, including 31 bookies will be prosecuted for gambling, Pongsapat said.

He urged authorities to use particularly harsh measures against suspects found to have been arrested for the charge more than twice before.

Although most gambling is illegal in Thailand, it is tolerated and widespread. The maximum penalty for illegal gambling is one year in prison.

Police officials said earlier they would keep a close eye on Internet activity and open a centre to halt soccer betting during the Euro 2004 Cup tournament.

European soccer is enormously popular in Thailand.

During the 2000 tournament, Bangkok police arrested 260 people for gambling and seized nearly 4 million baht, a police official said Thursday.

Thailand's Kasikorn Bank has estimated that local betting turnover during this year's three-week tournament could reach as high as 33 billion baht.

--AP 2004-06-14

[george]

Gamblers flood Cambodia

BANGKOK: -- Like football fans all over Europe who have crossed borders to cheer on their national team in Portugal, thousands of Thais have been making a football-related pilgrimage of their own - flocking to the Cambodian town of Poipet to gamble.

Officials said more than 10,000 Thais entered Poipet via Sa Kaew's Aranyaprathet checkpoint yesterday ahead of the big match between England and France. Casinos in Poipet were chock-full of punters poring over the teams' odds .

The checkpoint deputy superintendent, Police Lt-Colonel Chalermphol Jintarat, said that usually very few Thais travelled to Cambodia on a Sunday.

Thai national Suriya, who asked that his surname be withheld, admitted that he had gone to Poipet to gamble on the football match results. "I lost more than Bt20,000 on Saturday night," he said.

Police spokesman Maj-General Pongsapat Pongcharoen said 5,619 Thais went to Cambodia via the Aranyaprathet checkpoint on Saturday, an increase of 1,000 people compared to other Saturdays. "We believe some of them travelled to gamble," he said.

Meanwhile, local gambling was believed to be getting into high gear, despite a purported clampdown by authorities.

As of yesterday, police had arrested 332 punters and 31 small-scale football-match bookmakers across the country. Betting slips showed that up to Bt9.66 million had been wagered. This is a tiny fraction of the estimated Bt33 billion expected to be bet on Euro 2004 in underground gambling dens.

The Anti Money Laundering Office (AMLO) yesterday vowed to seize the assets of football-match bookmakers retroactively, saying it has been waiting for the promulgation of legislation that will empower it to seize the assets of a broad range of gambling offenders.

"We expect the law amendment to take effect at the end of the year. After that, we will pursue legal action against the offenders retroactively," AMLO secretary-general Peeraphan Prempooti said yesterday.

He said the Supreme Court's ruling clearly stipulated that AMLO could take retroactive action in civil cases.

Peeraphan said his office was now working closely with the Metropolitan Police Bureau - which was stepping up its crack-down on football gambling during the Euro 2004 tournament.

He also warned punters against placing bets via the Internet.

"For Thais, gambling is illegal. As soon as they allow their credit cards to be charged for bets online, they are liable to legal action. Furthermore, such money transfer also flouts currency exchange laws," he said.

Peeraphan said he had already told commercial banks to monitor money transactions during Euro 2004 to check if there was anything suspicious. "Failure to report any irregularity will subject a bank to a Bt300,000 fine per transaction," he said.

-- The Nation 2004-06-14

[stumonster]

I wonder what percentage of the thais bet on england last night?

you like football? you like manchester united? you like beckham?

[konangrit]

"For Thais, gambling is illegal. As soon as they allow their credit cards to be charged for bets online, they are liable to legal action. Furthermore, such money transfer also flouts currency exchange laws," he said.

Does this mean that it is legal for foreigners to gamble over the internet within Thailand?

Incidentally I had 100 GBP on England to beat France last night at 29/10. To say I wasn't amused by the injury time goals by France would be an understatement.

[350torana]

It would make it a long day for walkers at Poipet with all the Thais standing in the "Alien passport " line