Ayutthaya Rajabhat University students scramble against a side of 11 jumbos from the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal in a ‘gambling free’ match yesterday. After drawing to a 3-3 tie, the humans won in overtime with a 2-1 penalty kick.

The Social Development and Human Security Ministry's Society Watch and the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) conducted the survey of 29,869 respondents in 75 provinces between June 14 and June 16 with aim of warning society about the extent and ills of football gambling.

The situation in Samut Sakhon, Chai Nat, Ayutthaya, Lampang, Sukhothai, Nan, Surat Thani, Chantaburi, Udon Thani and Trat was so serious that warnings about the effects of gambling were necessary, the pollsters found.

They released the survey findings at a seminar yesterday. The World Cup, which kicked off on June 9, will continue until July 9.

It was estimated that up to 3.6 million people would gamble on matches during the tournament, NIDA researcher Sangkom Khuntanakornsakun said.

"There are more male gamblers than female," he said.

According to the survey, more than half of gamblers place bets for fun and some 33 per cent do so as a gesture of support for their favourite team. Only 10 per cent of gamblers seriously aim to make money.  Of the serious gamblers, 54 per cent reported being under stress as a result of the activity.

Suradej Chayakasettrin, inspector-general of the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, said his

ministry would write to all provincial governors to ask them to closely monitor the situation and step up their crackdowns on gambling.

"The governors, especially those in charge of provinces with severe levels of gambling, should take action," he said.

Sangkom said Bangkok had the largest amount of bets, estimated at Bt142 million per match, but when compared with its huge population (more than 10 million), the amount did not put the capital in the "serious" category.

"But we have labelled Bangkok as 'needing surveillance'," he said.