Thailand has joined other Asian states such as China, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia in cracking down hard on the rising tide of internet betting as the football World Cup in South Africa reaches the final eight teams.

Police spokesmen report that more than 1,100 punters in Bangkok have been arrested in a series of drives against illegal football gambling since the World Cup began on June 11.

Over three weeks, police have also arrested 27 illegal bookmakers and 29 punt runners in addition to 1,156 punters, who made bets totalling Bt 3,434,960.

Read the full post …

USA Loses To Ghana It was supposed to be a joyous day for online sports gamblers who predicted the US would beat Ghana and move on to the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup. Instead, these bettors ended up disappointed.

When Asamoah Gyan scored the golden goal in the first overtime of the USA vs. Ghana match, millions of dollars went down the drain for those who bet on the US. The Americans were favored at sports books around the world, but they were unable to deliver a win.

The US, for the fourth straight World Cup match, fell behind in the early stages of the game. Read the full post …

The world’s largest online poker website, PokerStars, has signed a 12-month sponsorship agreement with the Spanish Basketball Federation, just a few months before the 2010 FIBA World Championship scheduled to take place in Turkey in August this year.

PokerStars branding will be seen throughout Spain’s preparation for the world championships and during the upcoming competition, and promotions will see players given the opportunity to win tickets to warm-up games and the championship tournament through various tournaments on the online poker site.

“Our client PokerStars is very proud to become a sponsor of the Federación Española de Baloncesto,” said Juanjo Marquez, a spokesman for the company in Spain.

“Being a global brand, this is a significant opportunity to join a leading sport. P

Read the full post …

England’s poor performance has resulted in huge revenues for the English bookmakers.

Simon English of the London Evening Standard: "Here’s the usual plot for the World Cup: England get hugely hyped by the press, fans and players before they go on to perform indifferently in all but one game, which they still contrive to lose. They crash out amid tears from everyone – except the betting industry, which tries hard not to cry with laughter."

England was heavily bet on to beat the USA in their first 2010 World Cup game.  That one ended in a draw.  And certainly the British were not going to lose to Algeria following the initial draw.  Well, the England-Algeria game ended – not just with another draw – but with a scoreless draw.

Read the full post …