With the FIFA World Cup in South Africa said to be the biggest ever UK betting event and predictions that online betting on the soccer games will reach over US$1.5 billion, other nations are cracking down on what they see as illegal gambling. In Thailand the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has blocked 248 gambling websites on local and foreign servers. Thailand’s Metropolitan Police Bureau has set up a special investigation centre and has assigned to it experts in Internet gambling.

In Hong Kong the rigorous pursuit of illegal gambling services has caused some operators to move across the border to Shenzhen. It is reported that police from both sides of the border have arrested 70 people in a gambling syndicate and uncovered 13 websites linked to football gambling. The syndicate is said to have been operating for six months and to have involved some HK$752 million. Betting slips valued at HK$66 million and HK$640,000 in cash were seized during the police raid.

At the weekend the Hong Kong government launched a ‘Do Not Gamble’ Fun Fair aimed at increasing public awareness and persuading young people not to take the risk of gambling. Under the law, anyone placing a bet with a bookmaker is liable to penalties that include up to nine months in prison and a fine of HK$30,000. The airing of television programmes and the issue of leaflets in places likely to be targeted by illegal bookmakers also underline the government’s anti-gamble message.

The Ministry of Public Security in mainland China is cracking down on World Cup gambling activity. So far Chinese police have detained around 3,600 people said to have participated in online gambling and confiscated US$102 million. The arrests include 180 people linked to gambling organisations in Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and the Philippines. A Malaysian based website running an illegal betting operation for two years in Jiangsu Province has also been closed and 30 gang members arrested.

In Malaysia a special task force has been established to help stop illegal online World Cup soccer betting. The police are said to be working with Interpol to trace links between local syndicates and international groups. The task force will operate at district levels and be monitored by the Commanding Officer of each Malaysian state. Those found guilty of online Internet gambling activities will be charged under the Money Laundering Act and Preventive Law. Malaysia is in the process of finalising terms and conditions for the issue of a sports betting licence after protests from many Muslims across the country delayed plans to legalise sports betting in time for the World Cup.

Meanwhile, back in the place where online betting is perfectly legal, the unlikely suggestion has been made that the 4-second break in transmission that caused over 1.5 million UK HD viewers to miss England’s opening goal could have been a betting scam. A spokesman for Paddy Power said it had taken around a dozen bets, mainly of £5 and £10, on the coverage being interrupted. Technicolor, which provides the broadcast television playout services for ITV said it deeply regrets the incident.

UK bookmakers are out vying each other to cash in on the World Cup gambling fever that has infected not only English fans. In fact not much money is being wagered on an English win, Spain is just ahead of Brazil as likely winners. William Hill expects its Internet betting business to come of age in this World Cup and is taking wagers from gamblers in 188 countries. The tournament is said to be a huge marketing tool for online betting operators and ‘an explosion’ of Internet betting is predicted, not least in Asia. (E-06.14.10)

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