THAILAND: Can Thai Police Stop Multi-Billion Baht World Cup Gambling? Don’t Bet on It

Posted by Asia Views | Nov 21, 2022 | 0 |

NationThailand-Nov 20

Thai police have a tough few weeks ahead as they seek to stifle the country’s notorious appetite for gambling on the Fifa World Cup. Gambling remains illegal in Thailand for all except the national lottery and horse racing. But that won’t stop Thais from betting about 57.2 billion baht (US$1.6 billion) on the World Cup, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. Seeking to stem the tide, national police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas has instructed his officers to step up monitoring for gambling on the tournament, which kicks off on Sunday at 11pm Thai time. Underground gambling via illegal lotteries, casinos, cockfighting and Muay Thai is thought to be worth billions of baht per year in Thailand. The wave of World Cup gambling has sparked fears that Thais desperate for cash after the Covid crisis will turn to betting and sink deeper into debt. Gambling has also been made easier in the past few years by the proliferation of betting websites. Gen Damrongsak told a press conference that he has instructed the Police Cyber Taskforce and the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) to take charge of monitoring for online gambling on all 64 matches of the World Cup in Qatar. The two agencies will work under the supervision of Gen Torsak Sukwimol, deputy police commissioner-general in charge of crime suppression. Meanwhile, police stations will monitor World Cup gambling at entertainment venues, hotels, bars, restaurants, Internet cafés and other places under their jurisdiction. Any websites found advertising betting services would be blocked and their backers arrested, Damrongsak warned. Those found guilty of organizing football gambling would face a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 and/or a jail term of one year to 10 years. Read more at: https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022269

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

THAILAND: Can Thai Police Stop Multi-Billion Baht World Cup Gambling? Don’t Bet on It

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