[NEWS]Thailand blocked 13,888 illegal sites related gambling using AI

[acroman08]

As the title says, Thailand has blocked 13,888 illegal websites that have links to World Cup gambling using AI in just 18 days. According to the article, the country strengthened their cyber blocking measures against websites linked to online gambling and uses AI to "analyse and screen suspicious data across social media platforms more accurately".

Just so people know, the government using AI to tackle illegal online casinos is not something new, other countries like the Philippines and Indonesia are using it too.

BANGKOK – Thailand’s government has blocked 13,888 illegal online gambling pages and websites linked to the World Cup 2026 in an 18-day AI-backed crackdown, while warning businesses against showing live match broadcasts for commercial purposes without permission.

The Prime Minister’s Office has outlined tougher measures to prevent legal violations during the World Cup 2026, targeting transnational online football gambling networks alongside efforts to protect intellectual property rights.

The government stressed that businesses must strictly follow the rules to help create a responsible and lawful atmosphere for watching the global sporting event.

AI used to detect gambling activity

Deputy Government Spokesperson Ploytalay Laksameesangchan explained that the government had integrated the work of security and technology agencies to strengthen cyber-blocking measures against URLs linked to online gambling.

The operation has been carried out with support from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, which is using artificial intelligence to detect, analyse and screen suspicious data across social media platforms more accurately.

The proactive campaign follows direct instructions from Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who has ordered agencies to eradicate online gambling websites, which the government described as a social time bomb.

During the World Cup 2026 period between June 1 and 18, officials filed petitions with the court and obtained court orders to block illegal websites. They also coordinated with online platform providers to remove illegal pages and websites, bringing the total number of blocked or removed items to 13,888.

[_act_]

This is one of the reasons I like this forum, we know the right gambling sites that can be used to bet on world cup matches and also the prediction market that can be used, but I prefer using just the a gambling site that is among the gambling sites that have their presence on this forum.

There are other means people are using to scam about this world cup, but there has been I think a topic that mentioned almost all ways scammers can use to scam people that can be avoided if noticed.

[Maslate]

What about those people who are using VPN to access the site, are they also blocked from accessing the website?

Because if that measure they took to block those websites can easily be bypassed using VPN, then that will not solve the bigger portion of the problem.

I can relate this to our country where they blocked certain exchanges, but their announcement only said it was blocked, while in reality people can still access them, even changing the DNS would work.

[xLays]

I was about to comment that I wish the same thing was happening in the Philippines, but then I read the OP and saw that the Philippines is supposedly doing it as well. I honestly don't feel that the our government is effectively blocking illegal online casinos.
In my area, people can still easily play what we commonly call scatter games at internet cafes or computer shops. Nowadays, many of our countrymen don't even go to internet cafe to play online or PC games anymore. Most of them I see there are playing scatter games instead.
That's why I find it hard to believe that the Philippines is enforcing the same measures effectively. The players I see are using various unknown gambling sites and I don't even know whether those sites are licensed by PAGCOR or not.

[Botnake]

That's why I find it hard to believe that the Philippines is enforcing the same measures effectively. The players I see are using various unknown gambling sites and I don't even know whether those sites are licensed by PAGCOR or not.

They can only block by ordering the ISPs within the country to block access to those websites, but surely they cannot stop people who are using VPN to access the casinos.

That is the reason why some countries file a lawsuit against casinos that cater to citizens from a country where gambling is illegal, but even if they file a lawsuit, if these casinos will not be compelled to pay the penalty, the measure will never be effective.

I think the main effect is to minimize gambling, not to fully eradicate it, due to the reason about VPN mentioned.

[Dogedegen]

13 thousand websites? Wow, that is a huge number for something like this and I really wonder what goes in the mind of people who go to random and unknown platforms to play. Why? There is no good reason to do this at all! I do not understand how they end up in obscure and shady websites so often when there is good information about websites and their reputations. I would expect that with the ability to find information that the number of platforms becomes quite small and reputable players to have most of the players. It is either still that people are landing on random and shady websites somehow and the player base is spread, or they are managing to lure new people by creating many websites and ads.

What about those people who are using VPN to access the site, are they also blocked from accessing the website?

Because if that measure they took to block those websites can easily be bypassed using VPN, then that will not solve the bigger portion of the problem.

I can relate this to our country where they blocked certain exchanges, but their announcement only said it was blocked, while in reality people can still access them, even changing the DNS would work.

They should not do that because that would involve a big filtering effect and intrusion into the privacy people. To solve a smaller evil of shady gambling websites you would commit an even bigger crime against freedom, so that is not recommended. The block is to prevent people who would by chance find these websites and it will work against the majority of people. Those that know how to use a VPN to bypass such things can bypass it even if you had VPN inspection.

[Doan9269]

As the title says, Thailand has blocked 13,888 illegal websites that have links to World Cup gambling using AI in just 18 days. According to the article, the country strengthened their cyber blocking measures against websites linked to online gambling and uses AI to "analyse and screen suspicious data across social media platforms more accurately".

If they know how to make use of sophisticated bots to identify for online gambling sites that operates and decides to take necessary action against them, then the people should know that they are going to fully depend on the use of VPN to operate and launch a gambling site as well as prevent themselves from any further identification to a gambling casino in the country, they are just getting to spoil some gamblers mode this world cup season.

[Russlenat]

If they know how to make use of sophisticated bots to identify for online gambling sites that operates and decides to take necessary action against them, then the people should know that they are going to fully depend on the use of VPN to operate and launch a gambling site as well as prevent themselves from any further identification to a gambling casino in the country, they are just getting to spoil some gamblers mode this world cup season.

That is the easiest way, they use VPN and problem solved. After all, there is no difference between using a VPN and accessing a casino when gambling is illegal in your country.

Though that could be risky on the part of the gambler, as that can be used by the casino to deny winnings in the future especially if a gambler wins big, but as a gambler who is desperate to play, they will already accept that kind of risk.

[danherbias07]

That's good news.

Was it also the one used by the Philippines to eliminate those illegal sites? I mean, I am not seeing them now, especially the streamers who had been promoting those illegal gambling sites. After the pandemic, they are all over social media with almost the same names, and they are just changing either one letter or one number in the name.

If it's a working mechanism to fix these issues, then I guess it's good to have AI to secure gamblers from being scammed or robbed. Also, this should stop all the streamers who are promoting them unless they want jail time.

[Stepstowealth]

Just so people know, the government using AI to tackle illegal online casinos is not something new, other countries like the Philippines and Indonesia are using it too.

But how long will this last Because I think it is still very possible that an artificial intelligence is developed that makes online casino undetectable to this AI that tackles them It is even very possible that it is already in development because people are very dynamic in thinking and in shortly we may just hear it or see its availability on an app store or somewhere. I don't think artificial intelligence will be the first tool that some government has tried to use to try Tackle illegal online casinos in some of these countries It is just that for the now it is the most effective of them all.

[robelneo]

As the title says, Thailand has blocked 13,888 illegal websites that have links to World Cup gambling using AI in just 18 days. According to the article, the country strengthened their cyber blocking measures against websites linked to online gambling and uses AI to "analyse and screen suspicious data across social media platforms more accurately".

I know that AIs are good, but they have proved to be a big help to the government in combating illegal sites. 13,888 in just 18 days is a big achievement, which would take longer and require fewer if done by a human.
With AI being used to combat illegal sites, it will help minimize the risk of getting scammed. They have to continue using AI not only on the World Cup, as scammers continued to create illegal gambling sites even after the World Cup event.

[knowngunman]

That is the easiest way, they use VPN and problem solved. After all, there is no difference between using a VPN and accessing a casino when gambling is illegal in your country.

Though that could be risky on the part of the gambler, as that can be used by the casino to deny winnings in the future especially if a gambler wins big, but as a gambler who is desperate to play, they will already accept that kind of risk.

But I think there are some VPN friendly casinos. Some casinos don't penalise players for using VPN to access their website but it's still risk should in case anything happens.

That's good news.

Was it also the one used by the Philippines to eliminate those illegal sites? I mean, I am not seeing them now, especially the streamers who had been promoting those illegal gambling sites. After the pandemic, they are all over social media with almost the same names, and they are just changing either one letter or one number in the name.

If it's a working mechanism to fix these issues, then I guess it's good to have AI to secure gamblers from being scammed or robbed. Also, this should stop all the streamers who are promoting them unless they want jail time.

Is there any legal sites before?

I think gambling is still banned in Thailand and that's the reason they are going this extra mile to make sure people comply with that instruction. With their slow growing economy, I think they have more important sectors to focus on than putting huge effort on ensuring gambling activities never take place. I will commend this development if it was mainly to protect gamblers from scammers but it was a deliberate attempt to stop every gambler from playing.

[YOSHIE]

Just so people know, the government using AI to tackle illegal online casinos is not something new, other countries like the Philippines and Indonesia are using it too.

That is the important role of the government in taking action, especially regarding illegal Al gambling operating in certain countries, for me this is action and is brave and responsible, This means that the public knows that the government really cares about the public, which online gambling sites are good and official and which sports betting sites are dangerous, as happened in Thailand.

blocked 13,888 fake betting sites, not an easy job, but the Thai authorities have carried out the blocking in 18 days, less than 1 month, this is big progress for the government there, Yes, we know that the World Cup is currently taking place, this is a golden opportunity for fraudsters to make money through sports betting sites, hopefully other countries will also do the same as Thailand.

[Ronsbit]

This is one of the reasons I like this forum, we know the right gambling sites that can be used to bet on world cup matches and also the prediction market that can be used, but I prefer using just the a gambling site that is among the gambling sites that have their presence on this forum.

You are right, this is more reason why I look out mostly for casinos present on this platform because I know that to some extent, they are okay and reputable to get along with. This forum has given most of us the opportunity to get access to a genuine, reliable, and reputable casino platform to play with. It is now safer to relate to casinos directly on this platform through their representatives if the need arises.

[Hispo]

It may sound good and fine at first, but let us be honest... There are going to be hundreds of websites which will get censored and would not have anything to do with gambling, because (whether we like it or not) artificial intelligence is not perfect and still is prone to commit mistakes a human being would not commit.

This is basically exchanging quality for quantity.

Eventually, that government is going to face a lot of complaints from legitimate websites which got blocked for no actual reason and they will have to hide someone to manually see each case and unblock those services.
In the end, all this sound like getting rid of a problem and creating a different one.

Also, eventually this will lead casino and bookies to be stealthier in order to fool the AI.

[Hatchy]

During the World Cup 2026 period between June 1 and 18, officials filed petitions with the court and obtained court orders to block illegal websites. They also coordinated with online platform providers to remove illegal pages and websites, bringing the total number of blocked or removed items to 13,888.

[/quote]
You can imagine the large number of sites in just one country. The government are doing their best though and that's a thumbs up for them. I wasn't really aware about things like this and seeing that other countries as well have taken this measure is a lot actually. The world cup is a good opportunity for scammers to reap where they haven't sold. And since we will have so many gullible gamblers, those willing to do anything just to place bets on the world cup it would be easier to get their selected targets. Like some have said, it's good to have a forum where we can get good and reputable casinos to gamble and also get first hand information to avoid being victims to the scammers. You don't see that everyday..

[aioc]

Just so people know, the government using AI to tackle illegal online casinos is not something new, other countries like the Philippines and Indonesia are using it too.

Honestly, I didn't know that our country is using AI to block these illegal gambling platforms, but I guess only those coming from other countries; their success in underground local gambling sites is still questionable.
I still received a lot of SMS inviting me to play at local illegal casinos, and they can't stop these illegal local casinos from using their text blast to.
This is one of the good uses of AI: they help combat illegal casinos.

[Dogedegen]

But I think there are some VPN friendly casinos. Some casinos don't penalise players for using VPN to access their website but it's still risk should in case anything happens.

That this is a good thing is not so clear. There are sides of the stories where services being VPN friendly are great for freedom, and the other side of the story is that it causes a lot of damage by enabling people who should not play from playing. There are arguments to be had for the government to be able to block gambling completely and arguments in favor of it not being able to do this. If people were responsible adults then we would not need these kinds of interventions by the government but many can't help themselves.

Honestly, I didn't know that our country is using AI to block these illegal gambling platforms, but I guess only those coming from other countries; their success in underground local gambling sites is still questionable.
I still received a lot of SMS inviting me to play at local illegal casinos, and they can't stop these illegal local casinos from using their text blast to.
This is one of the good uses of AI: they help combat illegal casinos.

There is nothing special about that, anyone who uses ChatGPT to write their homework can be said to be using AI to enhance their productivity. You can use any generic AI for this kind of thing, or they may have simply renamed their algorithms as AI to be in line with the times. You see the word AI everywhere, including places where it is actually used and where it isn't.