74 nabbed in Euro 2012 betting raids here

TNP FILE PHOTO

It's an international effort to clamp down hard on illegal football betting syndicates.

As part of an international operation with Interpol, police from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore took part in Asia-wide operations against illegal football betting.

Codenamed Operation Soga – an abbreviation for soccer gambling - the operations resulted in the arrests of about 300 people across Asia and the seizure of more than US$780,000 (S$980,000).

In Singapore, 74 people believed to be involved in illegal betting operations were nabbed, with the value of their bets estimated at more than $7 million.

One industry insider says the arrests will dampen the illegal betting scene for now, but interest will again pick up when the EPL starts next month.