SINGAPORE: Singapore police said they have arrested 18 people believed to be part of a multi-million dollar illegal football betting ring less than a month before the World Cup starts.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects are believed to have received illegal soccer bets amounting to an estimated Sg$8 million ($6.4 million) in the past two weeks alone,” the force said in a statement released on its website late Monday.

It did not reveal the nationalities of the suspects, 16 women and two men, who were detained during raids on Sunday and Monday.

Cash totalling Sg$1.4 million as well as computers, mobile phones, and documents detailing betting and bank transaction records were seized during the raid, police said.

“Bookmakers and bettors who assume that they can hide behind the anonymity of the Internet to commit criminal offences should think twice,” deputy assistant commissioner of police Kenny Tan warned in the statement.

“The police will find them and prosecute both bookmakers and bettors alike to the fullest extent of the law.”

If convicted, the suspects face fines of between Sg$20,000 and Sg$200,000 and up to five years in jail.

Sports betting is deeply entrenched in wealthy Singapore, with top European league matches the most favoured among punters.

The Singapore Totalisator Board, which manages the country’s two legal football betting and lottery companies, saw revenues of $983.3 million in the year to March 2013, from a total population of just 5.4 million.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2014