29-06-2006 Illegal bookmakers in South-East Asia move their operations online

Police in Honk Kong have sought support from Internet service providers and have arrested 85 people in 46 operations seizing $7.2m in soccer betting slips since the beginning of the World Cup. Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho said police departments across South-East Asia have formed a task force to combat illegal soccer bookmakers.

Police in Vietnam said raids on 30 soccer betting dens, including three that organized betting over the internet, have led to 100 arrests since the World Cup kicked off early this month. A local newspaper said the three internet-based operations were branches of major international soccer betting rings.

In Malaysia, the police arrested 8 people in Penang and 18 in Kuala Lumpur for accepting illegal soccer bets on the World Cup. While in Singapore one man has been charged with acting as a bookmaker and now faces a maximum five-year jail term as well as a fine of up to $125,000. Fourteen other people were arrested since June 10 and charged with betting with a bookmaker, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail.