Police have shut down more than 4,500 illegal gambling websites and arrested thousands of suspects in a nationwide crackdown linked to betting on the recent Fifa World Cup, authorities said on Wednesday.
The campaign led to the arrest of 617 bookmakers and 8,181 online gamblers, according to Pol Gen Thana Chuwong, deputy national police chief and director of the Technology Crime Suppression Center.
Pol Gen Thana said authorities uncovered 20.5 billion baht in betting-related transactions during what the special operation targeting World Cup football betting from June 6 to July 19.
Police also blocked nearly 558,000 gambling-related URLs.
The arrests were conducted in tandem with a stepped-up nationwide campaign against mule bank accounts, which he said are the financial backbone of online criminal syndicates involved in fraud and money laundering.
Other scams
Pol Gen Thana also reported that online shopping scams remained the most common cybercrime in July, while impersonation scams caused the highest financial losses.
Police data showed that bank transfers accounted for 65.4% of all online fraud cases and losses, confirming that criminal networks continue to rely heavily on mule accounts in commercial banks to launder money and move illicit funds.
Pol Gen Thana said authorities would intensify efforts to dismantle mule account networks at every level.
He also praised Provincial Police Region 2 for arresting suspects accused of helping Chinese nationals open bank accounts that were later used by call-centre scam gangs.
Between Oct 1, 2025, and July 19, 2026, police arrested 787 operators of illegal online platforms, and more than 3,100 suspects linked to the illegal sale of firearms.
Pol Gen Thana said the Royal Thai Police and the Bank of Thailand are preparing to establish an Anti-Online Gambling Center (AOGC) with intelligent detection systems to disrupt illegal financial networks.
Authorities will also investigate influencers and celebrities who promote online gambling, as well as those who hire them for advertising campaigns, he added.