Yet the problem of illegal betting is enormous. The government estimates that between $50 and $60 billion is wagered illegally each year on horse racing alone. And intelligence from the Hong Kong Jockey Club shows illegal bookmakers are increasingly offering a 'supermarket' of betting opportunities on a wide variety of sports - and even Mark Six lotteries - rather than focusing solely on football or horse racing to attract customers.

Some gamblers are believed to prefer illegal operators because they offer more enticing odds than those available legally and accept bets on credit.

The government has increased the duty gamblers pay on horse race betting three times in the past decade. In a report last week, it admitted the increases had made betting with illegal bookmakers more attractive.

Sidin Abdul Karim, who heads Malaysian operations against vice and gambling, said police in all three jurisdictions believed there were substantial links between criminal illegal gambling syndicates, and that police planned to share intelligence ahead of the World Cup finals next month.

Mr Sidin said the three jurisdictions had already been working closely on combating the cross-border flow of illegal betting cash.

'Betting on football is huge, not just in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, but in the whole of the region, with illegal money flowing from places like Thailand and the Philippines,' he said.

Mr Sidin said this week's meeting was a chance for the officers to form a strategy for fighting transnational illegal gambling.

A Hong Kong police spokesman said combatting illegal soccer gambling, especially syndicated bookmaking, was one of the force's major tasks, and a key component in the fight was keeping close relationships with police overseas.

Police would target key matches during the second half of the tournament, he said.

'Officers will distribute anti-illegal-soccer-gambling publicity material to managers and customers in bars to advise of the need to report to police any illegal-gambling activity.'

The force was intensifying efforts to gather intelligence on syndicates ahead of the World Cup to fight the surge in illegal bookmaking.

Mr Sidin dismissed a report in a Malaysian newspaper that he had called Hong Kong the illegal bookmaking centre of Asia.