Royal Thai Police reported 717,425 gambling-related URLs blocked from October 1, 2025, to May 20, 2026. The number includes betting sites. It also covers social media pages used to send users toward gambling content.
A Wider Blocking Campaign
The Technology Crime Suppression Division has also put 309 online gambling websites on priority for enforcement in May and June. The police added that some suspects were arrested, while warrants are out for others.
Timing is essential to the whole procedure. Football tournaments are likely to increase pressure on the gambling enforcement units, especially in markets where online betting remains outside the legal system.
Social Media Sites Draw Attention
The Thai crackdown is not focused only on betting websites. Police said gambling-related URLs also appeared on Facebook, Line, and TikTok, where operators use social content to send users toward betting pages.
This makes the work harder. A gambling website can be blocked, but the same audience can still be reached through social media accounts, live streams, or short videos.
Police stated that the use of AI technology is now part of the monitoring process. The purpose is to detect content related to gambling faster and connect related accounts to wider networks.
Another issue to consider is the youth factor. Police were instructed to watch football-related gambling during the tournament period and prevent minors from being pulled into illegal betting channels.
Payment Routes Add Another Layer
The financial trail is becoming more difficult to follow. Thai authorities stated that gambling networks have moved beyond the mule-account model often seen in earlier cases.
Current payment routes include corporate bank accounts, PayPal transfers, international intermediary accounts, and cryptocurrency payments. Each of these methods can make the money harder to trace, especially when cross-border and third-party operations are involved.
For police, blocking a website merely removes one route to users. Following the payment trail can reveal if there is any connection between a new link and the existing network.
What’s Next to Come
The World Cup will test whether that wider approach can slow illegal betting networks during a short, high-demand period. For regulators, the key issue is speed. Operators can rebuild traffic quickly, so enforcement has to connect platform takedowns with financial investigations.
