Of the total number of prospective punters, about 107,000 of them are students who will spend around Bt103 million on bets, said the research, which was conducted last week by Assumption University.

Abac head researcher Nopphadol Kannikar said about 200,000 Thais placed bets during the last World Cup and spent around Bt9 billion. "But the amount of money to be circulated has decreased because of the economic and political situation," he added.

Abac also conducted an opinion survey which found that most people who intend to bet will borrow money from parents and friends (12 per cent) or obtain loans from lenders (9 per cent). Most of the 1,584 respondents (61 per cent) said they were not worried about being arrested by police.

Asked how regularly they bet on football, 11 per cent said they did so on a regular basis while 10 per cent said they used to but have now given it up. Asked how football gambling had adversely affected them, 32 per cent said they had been cheated, and another 29.5 per cent said they had got into debt.

In terms of the health-related aspects, 25 per cent of respondents said they had skipped work and classes due to tiredness and lack of sleep, 25.5 per cent said they had experienced stress disorders, 3.6 per cent said they had consulted doctors or taken medication because of the disorders, while 1.6 per cent said that they had contemplated suicide.

Meanwhile, Dr Somchai Chakkraphan, director-general of the Mental Health Department, warned regular gamblers of the dangers of gambling addiction (pathological gambling) and other disorders linked to stress and obsessive behaviour. Gambling could cause interpersonal problems, problems at work and financial hardship, he said.

He said around three to eight people per thousand were thought to be addicted to gambling, especially where it is permitted by the law. "Going off the lowest possible percentage of three in every thousand, it is estimated that around 1.8 million people in Thailand suffer gambling addiction," he said.