Thailand creates anti‑online gambling centre after seizing 4,576 sites

The Thai government announced a major crackdown on illegal online gambling linked to the World Cup, seizing 4,576 websites between 6 June and 19 July 2023. The operation recovered more than 20.46 billion baht in betting turnover.

Authorities arrested 617 dealers and 8,181 online gamblers, detained 1,441 individuals involved in illegal gambling platforms, and shut down 787 illegal online platforms and 3,106 online firearms sites. The sweep also resulted in the seizure of thousands of weapons, 242,808 rounds of ammunition and 162 explosive devices.

Following the operation, the government will establish the Anti‑Online Gambling Centre (AOGC) and deploy an intelligent detection system. The National Police, the Bank of Thailand and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society will cooperate to cut financial flows to gambling syndicates and to monitor illegal promotion by influencers.