Police centre to crack down on World Cup bets

Police centre to crack down on World Cup bets

The World Cup always is the focus of anti-gambling crackdowns and the June 14-July 15 World Cup 2018 in Russia will be no exception. (Creative Commons)
The World Cup always is the focus of anti-gambling crackdowns and the June 14-July 15 World Cup 2018 in Russia will be no exception. (Creative Commons)

The Royal Thai Police will launch an operation centre to tackle illegal online football gambling next month ahead of the 2018 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July.

Chalermkiat Sriworakhan, deputy chief of the national police, announced the move Wednesday, saying the new centre will focus on those websites offering online football gambling services, both sites using computer servers in Thailand, and overseas.

The anti-football gambling centre will bring together staff from the Central Investigation Bureau, the Immigration Bureau and the Anti-Money Laundering Office who will work together in a "proactive" operation to stamp out illegal online football gambling.

Police have already begun tracking some Facebook pages running advertisements urging punters to gamble with some websites offering football gambling services, which is illegal, Pol Gen Chalermkiat said. Authorities are determining if they can take legal action against the pages under gambling legislation and the Computer Crime Act, he said.

The centre will also welcome any tip-offs from the public that may lead to a crackdown on illegal online gambling, he said, adding it is likely the centre will become a permanent fixture.

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