The FIFA 2018 World Cup is currently in progress and ever since its official opening ceremony on 14th June, enthusiasts around the globe have been participating in betting evolving around everything related to it. Macau which is widely-known as the gambling capital of the world has been working hard towards preventing any illegal betting activities to take place and this has paid off since the authorities have not encountered such throughout their extensive monitoring of the field.
Russia is the host of the 21st World Cup which is one of the most renown sports congregations on a global scale. National football teams of the member associations of FIFA which have demonstrated a premium level of football skills have deserved their spot among the participants of it. Ever since mid-June, they have the chance to prove that their place is on the top position at the end of the quadrennial international football tournament.
However, in the meantime, this is not only a special period for football enthusiasts, but also for bettors who see a winning perspective of generating profits and increasing their winnings with the help of their football knowledge. Many people are expected to feel confident enough to place their first bet during this World Cup and potentially win. Bookmakers around the world rejoice as they already witness the previously predicted betting turnover surge.
It could be recalled that prior to the beginning of the World Cup the Australian betting operator Tabcorp made a projection regarding the potential performance which amounted to US$76.1 million in betting turnover. Since the forecasted amount should be utilized by the community as well with the help of gambling taxes, wagering in a legal manner is strongly advised. Up to this point, Macau has not experienced any illegal wagering on football matches, as it was confirmed by the Macau Judiciary Policy.
Illegal Football Betting crackdowns across Asian Countries
This comes as good news for the gambling field, which only comes to show the discrepancy between the gambling hub and other Asian countries which have already been inspected and illegal gambling on sports events has been discovered. Over the span of the past several weeks since the beginning of the World Cup countries to the liking of Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand have been subjected to illegal betting crackdowns which aim to discover such activities.
They are performed regularly every time the World Cup is taking place in order to provide the ultimate level of control over the field and ensure all betting is legal and performed with the participation of Macau SLOT Co. Ltd. This is an SJM affiliate which is also the only company having the right to operate sports betting across the gaming capital. It has instant lottery, football, and basketball betting on offer and as it turns out it has been the only bookmaker to accept bets since the beginning of the football tournament.
It could be recalled, that right before the beginning of the World Cup Hong Kong bested a well-organized football gambling ring which had been in operation up to that point. Some HK$78 million (US$9.9 million) in illegal bets were then seized by the authorities in order to prevent it from future operation and there were 45 individuals arrested within the range of the operation. The previous edition of the football tournament witnessed some HK$750 million (US$95 million) worth of bets and cash seized by the police.
Technology has also entered the field and more and more people utilize instant messaging apps in order to place their bets in an untraceable way. Messages could be destroyed and this makes the authorities work even harder in the long run as no evidence of the activities remains. According to the estimations for the Asian region, Hong Kong is set to see an illegal betting turnover estimating to more than US$68 billion over the span of this year, while Singapore could generate some $6.5 billion.
Vietnam recently saw an online football wagering ring being busted and as much as $26 million in bets and cash were seized during the operation. According to the information provided by the four arrested individuals linked to the illegal ring, the website which made the betting possible was located in the Philippines.
