From the past to the present, cockfighting has always been a popular activity among people in my country, even though it is actually banned by the government. They usually do it in secret and not openly. I don't know for sure how profitable they are, but considering its continued existence and widespread practice, I suspect it still represents significant profits. I have also often encountered this type of gambling on several Asian online casino sites, but as far as I can remember, I've never been interested in watching or betting on it. While it may be interesting to you, I personally find this kind of animal fights unattractive, especially those involving death. I find it better to watch boxing or UFC matches, as they still have some important rules to avoid danger, especially death.
If it's banned in your country and people are still doing it secretly, why can't the government get to them and make them serve the punishment that is supposed to be given to them so that others can learn? This activity is not even to watch livestocks kill themselves in battle all for the sake of betting and making money, that's bad.
I don't know for sure, but there are two possibilities, the first is that the executant of cockfighting gambling may be very adept at hiding their activities, and the second is that they may have some sort of protection from government or we can say "a person who indulges in hypocrisy", in my local language is "Oknum" . Well, I don't know exactly what happened, but I think I am more inclined to believe the second possibility. By the way, this kind of thing has actually been discussed in various local media. If you follow news related to my country, especially regarding gambling, perhaps you will understand what is happening in the government system in here.