Traditionally, Thai sports fans have focused on the stadium, whether for home games or the experience of turning up at the stadium on the day of a competition. However, this is beginning to change. In Thailand’s top-level football division, attendances are low for stadiums even with capacities of tens of thousands. Mobile technology is distributing sports content to a greater number of people than could be achieved by any one stadium. Reports for national internet usage and data for the leagues indicate a trend of fans continuing to support their usual teams but switching to a different platform. This change is not limited to one specific sport, but football within the country provides the most obvious example, as attendance at each game is recorded and made public on a weekly basis.
Table of contents
Stadium attendance tells only part of the story
Despite the capacity of stadiums in the Thai League 1 reaching into the tens of thousands, the attendance numbers paint a different picture compared to the number on the ticket. In the 2025-26 season, there were a total of 240 matches played and 1,248,506 people in attendance, averaging 5,202 per match. This falls far short of the capacity at stadiums such as Buriram United’s 32,600-capacity stadium. Instead of attending in person, fans now track the same games and use mobile betting platforms such as Melbet Thailand to track live odds. As a result, mobile betting has become the new standard instead of the exception. Midweek games featuring smaller teams often have less than 2,000 in attendance. These numbers have been addressed through mobile betting, but fans have not been drawn back to in-person attendance.
This is not just about the number of football matches held in stadiums. In the country, most internet usage comes from mobile phones nationwide. In late 2025, Thailand had 96.6 million active mobile connections (135% of the population) and 67.8 million users of the internet (94.7% of the population). Faster networks have enabled new content to be available on mobile phones for viewing football. The median speed for mobile downloads in late 2025 reached 124.33 Mbps. This is fast enough to allow high-definition coverage of football matches without the lag that previously caused mobile phones to be a poor alternative to TV.
There are a number of reasons why interest in football matches has shifted from turnstiles to mobile phones.
- All three levels of professional football are streamed live for free via AIS Play. This is part of a four-year agreement signed in June 2025
- Mobile speeds are now fast enough to allow uninterrupted high-definition viewing
- Short clips of matches are shared on social media and allow the coverage of a match to continue long after the match has ended
- International competitions such as the English Premier League are available on the same platforms as domestic competitions
All these factors have eliminated a barrier that previously prevented casual viewers from consuming live football.
Mobile account activity follows the same viewing pattern
The same mobile-first pattern shapes how fans open accounts on platforms bundled alongside sports content. Rather than researching a service on a desktop browser before a weekend fixture, most users start and finish the process on the device already in their hand. For many Thai fans, that means completing Melbet register steps between the final whistle of one match and the kickoff of the next, without switching to another screen. This mirrors a broader pattern in which app-based tasks are completed in short bursts instead of longer browsing sessions.
This trend is backed by data from the country. According to data compiled by Meltwater and DataReportal, over 96 percent of Internet users in Thailand accessed the internet primarily via mobile instead of desktop or laptop in the second half of 2025. As a result, betting that previously required a desktop step can now be completed within the same mobile experience utilized for viewing or checking a score during a sporting event. This is part of the broader shift towards mobile consumption of sports events across the region.
Verified figures behind the shift
The figures below summarize the main indicators behind Thailand’s move from stadium attendance to mobile-based sports consumption, compiled from league attendance records and national digital-usage reports.
| Metric | Figure |
| Internet users in Thailand (late 2025) | 67.8 million (94.7% of population) |
| Active mobile connections (late 2025) | 96.6 million (135% of population) |
| Internet users primarily on mobile devices | Over 96% |
| Median mobile download speed (late 2025) | 124.33 Mbps |
| Thai League 1 average match attendance (2025-26 season) | 5,202 spectators |
| Domestic football free-streaming rights term | 2025-26 through 2028-29 (AIS Play) |
Together, these figures describe a stadium sector operating at a fraction of its seating capacity on an average match day, alongside a mobile population large enough to reach nearly every fan without a ticket.
What the shift means for how fans follow domestic football
However, the shift to mobile viewing doesn’t mean there is less interest in Thai football. Attendance at titles and derbies continues to be high. Buriram United’s last home match of the 2025-26 season attracted 30,726 fans. However, the mode of weekly engagement has shifted. Second-screen use has transitioned from a supplementary practice adopted by fans already attending matches to the primary mode of engagement for the majority of fans attending an entire league season. For those monitoring the audience, attendance significantly underestimates the actual reach of a football match by a large amount.
Attendance at stadiums is a good indicator of fan interest in Thai football. However, it no longer reflects the mode of engagement utilized by the majority of fans. For the majority of fans, in-person matchday engagement occurs on a single device. This device is used both for live match viewing and for tracking results between matches. The reach via streaming provides a better indication of the number of fans following a particular match than in-person attendance does. As mobile and streaming adoption continues to increase, this trend is expected to continue rather than decrease.
