Thailand blocked 55,377 gambling URLs in less than six weeks during the FIFA World Cup 2026

Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society says it blocked 55,377 gambling-related websites and URLs between June 1 and July 12 2026, stepping up enforcement during the closing stages of the FIFA World Cup 2026. For PSPs and high-risk operators, the useful part is not the headline number; it is the state’s willingness to combine court orders, ISP cooperation, and platform takedowns at speed.

1. According to the ministry, the blocking campaign covered 55,377 gambling websites and related online URLs in less than six weeks. The breakdown was 29,402 gambling-related URLs blocked during June 2026 and another 25,975 between July 1 and July 12 2026.
2. The ministry said the operation was carried out under court orders and in coordination with internet service providers and online platform operators. That is the standard playbook when a regulator wants enforcement to move fast: legal backing on one side, infrastructure partners on the other.
3. Authorities framed the campaign as part of a broader push against online crime, with the stated goal of reducing public exposure to illegal gambling services and supporting anti-fraud and cybercrime efforts. In practice, that means gambling, fraud, and general illegal-content enforcement are being treated as overlapping problems, not separate silos.
4. The ministry said Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul instructed it to intensify action against illegal social media accounts, web pages, and websites promoting unauthorized gambling. Minister Chaichanok Chidchob also directed expanded monitoring and enforcement against online gambling operations.
5. Deputy Minister Nan Boontida Somchai said major international sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup typically draw more online gambling activity, so the ministry added monitoring during the tournament to identify and restrict unlawful content before it reaches larger audiences. The ministry said its approach combines legal enforcement with technological monitoring and cooperation with digital platforms operating in Thailand.

For high-risk payment teams, Thailand’s numbers matter because they show a regulator that is not waiting for a single big raid or one-off shutdown. It is running continuous monitoring, and it is willing to remove URLs in bulk while the event is still live.