Thai police made 3,863 arrests and shutdown 224 illegal sports betting websites during Euro 2024. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Euro 2024 is finally over with Spain the 2-1 winners over England, but the squad captained by Harry Kane wasn’t the only group to end the soccer tournament on the losing side.

3,863 arrests during the tournament

A task force established by the Royal Thai Police specifically for the Euros gave illegal operators and bettors a real hiding with 3,863 arrests during the tournament. The Bangkok Post cited police on Sunday as taking down 224 sports betting websites with a staggering TBH2.4bn ($66.4m) in circulation.

For viewers in Thailand, Sunday’s final in Berlin’s Olympiastadion ended in the early hours of Monday morning. The special task force’s Center for Prevention and Suppression of Illegal Gambling specifically set up to tackle both online and brick-and-mortar activities during the soccer showpiece, however, wrapped up its investigations ahead of the game.

On Sunday, Thailand’s Assistant National Police Chief, Police Lieutenant General Akradet Pimolsri, shared details of the crackdown that began with the Euros kick-off on June 14. Of the total arrests, the police chief stated that 3,017 people were taken into custody at gambling dens. This figure included 50 and 2,944 arrests of alleged sports betting operators and gamblers, respectively.

According to the VN Express, police arrested another 846 people linked to illegal online sports betting, including 145 operators.