Thailand’s legions of pretty girls are putting their ample assets to work by visually promoting online gambling sites ahead of next month’s FIFA World Cup action.
Over the weekend, Thai news outlet MGR Online reported that a growing number of the nation’s “pretties” are being recruited by unspecified online gambling sites to promote their website addresses in preparation for next month’s World Cup betting bonanza.
According to the news outlet, some of these girls claimed to have responded to online requests for “a good-looking woman to promote a football website.” The job duties are simple: using pen or lipstick, write the URL of the betting site on a conspicuous piece of flesh, preferably on the cleavage or the stomach below, then ensure photos of the curvaceous calligraphy feature prominently on the girls’ Facebook profiles.
One girl told MGR that her work promoting betting sites was earning her a weekly paycheck of between THB4k-8k (US$125-250). However, higher paydays were possible depending on (a) the size of a girl’s Facebook audience, and (b) the comeliness of the girl, which probably has a direct bearing on (a).
Girls who enter into such business deals say it’s considered bad form to advertise more than one gambling site, and while it’s encouraging to see a sense of honor prevail, it’s hard to see how the gambling sites might enforce such a limit.
Thailand has strict gambling rules, effectively banning any type of wager beyond the state-run lottery. Naturally, illegal betting is rampant, and the Royal Thai Police recently unveiled its new operation center intended to stamp out illegal online wagering on this year’s World Cup.
Regardless, Thai girls have carved out a lucrative niche promoting forbidden gambling activities. Last year, a self-described ‘net idol pretty’ was fined THB500 for violating the Computer Crime Act by livestreaming a striptease act to promote an online gambling site. But since she was paid THB3k for the show, the fine appears to have been a fairly ineffective deterrent.
