Crackdown On Student Football Gambling

[george]

Crackdown on student football gambling

BANGKOK: -- As World Cup fever infects schools across Thailand, the Ministry of Education has announced measures to forbid students from gambling on football matches during World Cup 2006 by asking teachers to monitor Internet browsing at schools to prevent students from betting via cyberspace.

Caretaker Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang said he issued a ministerial memo to school administrators, vocational colleges and universities nationwide to end all kinds of gambling among youth, including betting on football matches during the World Cup.

The minister said teachers at computer rooms would be instructed to keep track of internet browsing among students to prevent them from placing their bets on the Internet.

He said students caught gambling would face harsh disciplinary action, and that police will also crack down on bookies operating near educational institutions and dormitories.

The minister has also directed education officials to jointly draw up a plan to prevent gambling among students.

He said recreational activities should be promoted among students to help them spend their spare time more effectively and education on the negative impact of gambling should be spread in school journals and student radio programmes.

--TNA 2006-05-30