During the first eleven days of the soccer World Cup, 361 bookies and punters have been arrested in Thailand alone. According to local police reports, the illegal bookies are suspected to have handled bets worth over $4.8 million.
Police in Hong Kong Wednesday arrested two illegal bookmakers and seized World Cup betting slips worth more than $1.5 million. The raid followed the arrest of eight people the day of the tournament’s opening match between Germany and Costa Rica. The Hong Kong Jockey Club estimates that up to $7 billion a year is wagered through illegal bookmakers on horse racing and soccer matches in the former British colony.
Elsewhere, Cambodia\’s Prime Minister urged soccer fans in the country to stop betting their belongings on World Cup matches. “Just watch it, but don\’t sell your cows, motorcycles, cars, houses or land for bets on soccer,” he said. A provincial court in Vietnam sentenced to 30 years in jail for fraud a government official who used his position to obtain loans from banks which he spent on gambling.
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