Banged up in Bangkok: World Cup gambling arrest figures

Bangkok-World-Cup-ArrestsThai police are only half pleased with the results of their crackdown on World Cup bettors. Viewed from a ‘gosh, don’t we look tough on crime’ perspective, the 1,782 arrests represent an ‘improvement’ over the 2006 figures, but two other figures are less impressive. For one, the bookie to punter ratio of this year’s arrests is vastly skewed towards the punter side, meaning the fish in the police dragnet are a lot smaller than before. Also undersized is the amount of money confiscated via the busts, as more bookies and punters took their action online. That last point must really stick in the authorities’ craw, as these type of crackdowns are often thinly disguised backdoor taxation schemes via ‘proceeds of crime’ forfeiture laws. Read more.