Hong Kong police have arrested 85 people in 46 operations since the World Cup started, seizing 56 million HK dollars (US$7.2 million) in soccer betting chips, Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho said on Wednesday.

The figures are higher than those for the 2002 World Cup in which 66 were arrested and 38 million HK dollars in betting chips seized.

Ho said that most illegal bookmakers have moved their operations overseas due to vigorous police enforcement, and so are doing business over the Internet more.

In response police have sought support from Internet service providers in recent operations and seized control of eight computer servers connected to 13 websites. Five have now moved out of Hong Kong.

Ho said police liaised with counterparts in Guangdong, Macao and across Southeast Asia, and have formed a mechanism to work together to combat soccer bookmaking.

Police have written to international remittance organizations urging them to take extra care in offering account services to companies related to bookmaking. In-depth financial investigation of bookmaking syndicates has been undertaken to investigate money laundering.