Thailand ended the year 2025 with 67.8 million internet users (94.7% penetration). The majority of time spent online in Thailand now occurs on mobile devices instead of television. This can be observed in sports in Thailand. Football, Muay Thai, and volleyball all have a large number of domestic fans. All three have shifted the primary experience of these sports away from scheduled broadcasts to mobile apps and streaming services.
Football Streaming and Betting Platforms in Thailand
Football remains Thailand’s most watched sport, led by the Thai League and reinforced by strong regional interest in the English Premier League and, from the 2026/27 season, the German Bundesliga. AIS Play now carries every tier of the Thai League together with the FA Cup, League Cup, and youth competitions, after the operator agreed in 2021 to stream more than 600 matches a season on behalf of the Football Association of Thailand. Live streaming access has also changed how supporters engage with match odds, and searches for betting sites Thailand tend to spike in the hours before a marquee fixture kicks off.
As with many sports, in Thailand there is now a growing consumer preference for consumers to look at multiple platforms for a particular football match. This is due to football being broadcast on both free and subscription platforms. Some of the more prevalent platforms include
- AIS Play—All matches in the Thai League (3 levels), FA Cup, and League Cup available for free
- True Sport HD and TrueVisions Now—International football, including the Premier League, in regional coverage
- PPTV HD 36 and Channel 7 HD—Some Thai national team matches are available free on air
- Football Association of Thailand and club matches on Facebook and YouTube – Some live and highlight games available
None of these services require a cable subscription. This has contributed to the rise of mobile viewing over traditional television for football in Thailand.
This has business implications. AIS has extended its rights to the Thai League for the 2025/26 season and also gained rights to the Bundesliga on a three-year deal starting in August 2026. This further highlights football as the most popular live sports content in Thailand. Regionally, similar deals have been struck. Regional broadcasters now offer short clips of games for use on fan pages but have full game rights on their own apps.
Mobile Apps and Muay Thai’s Digital Growth
Muay Thai has followed a similar path from stadium seating to mobile screens. Betting interest around fight cards has moved alongside it, and many bettors now track live odds through the app Melbet or similar mobile platforms while a stadium broadcast plays in the background. This kind of in-play betting activity around fight cards has grown as more promotions livestream full events rather than only highlight clips.
Rajadamnern Stadium, located in Bangkok and established in 1945, is the most prominent venue for the sport. In 2022, the promoters of Rajadamnern established the Rajadamnern World Series with the aim of appealing to young international fans. ONE Championship, the Singapore-based promotion that frequently co-hosts events at Rajadamnern, is among the top five sports properties in the world in terms of global viewership according to an independent Nielsen study. Events broadcast on this platform consistently achieve six-figure total views on the promotion’s app and YouTube in the first week of going live across more than 150 countries.
Coverage now differs mainly by platform type rather than by whether an event is broadcast at all, as the table below shows.
| Sport | Main Streaming Access | Typical Cost |
| Football (Thai League, EPL, Bundesliga) | AIS Play, True Sport HD | Thai League free; international packages from about 199 Baht per month |
| Muay Thai (Rajadamnern, ONE Championship) | Stadium livestream, ONE Championship app, YouTube | Paid pass for full stadium cards; highlights free |
| Volleyball (Thai League, FIVB events) | AIS Play, VBTV, Volleyball World YouTube | Free during major tournaments |
Football and volleyball skew toward advertising-supported or bundled access, while Muay Thai retains more pay-per-view elements tied to individual stadium cards.
Volleyball’s Growing Online Following
Volleyball has the most socially active fan base of the three sports. The FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship was hosted in Thailand from August 22 to September 7, 2025, in four cities: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Phuket. AIS Play is the official broadcaster for the tournament in Thailand. VBTV and the YouTube channel of Volleyball World will cover the tournament internationally. An estimated 21.1 million people in Thailand were fans of the event according to independent estimates. Over 10,000 spectators attended the national team’s pool matches.
The regulatory environment affects the ways in which all three sports can leverage their online viewers. In Thailand, the Gambling Act of 1935 allows only horse racing and the state lottery to be conducted in licensed stadiums within the country. As a result, sports wagering associated with football, Muay Thai, and volleyball is not permitted within Thailand. However, in 2025, a draft amendment proposed the implementation of a regulated system for sports wagering, but this has not yet come into effect. This regulatory gap explains why industry analysts track viewing and wagering separately, instead of releasing a single measure of the overall market. Currently, the majority of Thai bettors seeking regulated sports wagering must turn to international operators, as there is currently no domestically regulated system in place.
