Bangkok: Police raided a luxury condo and arrested "Waw Jaruwat" for live-streaming World Cup analysis that was subtly encouraging gambling. The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), armed with a search warrant from the Criminal Court, raided a condominium in the Huai Khwang area of Bangkok and arrested Mr. Jaruwat Pribwai, or "Waw," 44, a well-known football commentator and sports expert. They seized a laptop and an iPad. Mr. Jaruwat was apprehended while resting in his apartment after a live stream analyzing the World Cup Round of 16 match between the United States and Belgium.

According to Thai News Agency, this arrest stems from a cybercrime investigation that detected irregularities on the TikTok platform. The account, "Jor Luk Nang Waw77 Dao," belongs to a football expert with over 5,329 followers and 14,800 video likes. The suspect allegedly created videos and live streams posing as an expert, accurately analyzing football matches and predicting winners to attract viewers. Once a large following grew, he would subtly advertise and invite viewers to add a Line ID to join a group for online gambling. These Line groups contained links to two popular online gambling websites: https://ufafat11.com/ and https://member2.ufa747.farm/, with enticing promotions offering free sports-related merchandise such as jerseys, bags, mugs, and hats to new members who deposited between 300 and 2,000 baht.

During questioning, Mr. Jaruwat confessed to all charges, admitting that he was hired to post links and invite people to play online gambling, for which he received a monthly salary of 50,000 baht, and that he had been doing so for about two months. Initially, the authorities charged him with "advertising and soliciting others to participate in gambling without permission" and violations of the Gambling Act, before taking him into custody and handing him over to investigators at the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau 1 for further legal proceedings.