Vietnam cracks down on illegal online gambling

Raids on illegal gambling dens have resulted in the arrest of 21 people

An illegal online gambling den in Vietnam has been raided by the police authorities, with twenty one people involved in the gambling organisation arrested.  

The country remains on lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Those arrested in the crackdown on illegal gambling, including suspected leaders Nguyen Thi Huong Ly, 28 and Nguyen Duc Mahn, 24, were charged with offering online gambling games like poker and lottery through offshore servers.  

Following a thorough investigation, the authorities learned that the organisation had generated an income of about VND20 trillion or US$858 million to date. Earlier this year, Vietnam police also busted a US$12.9 million online gambling ring for allegedly running a football gambling den.  

The suspected kingpin, Nguyen Xuan Hung, was said to have bought a basic account on b8ag.com, a multilingual website with an offshore server, and conducted the illegal gambling activities on several provinces in the country late last year. The group had allegedly transacted VND300 billion or US$12.9 million worth of bets in just four months.  

Authorities seised VND122 million or US$5254 in cash and other items said to be used for the illegal operations.  

Last July Vietnam’s police force arrested 380 Chinese nationals allegedly operating an illegal gambling ring in the country.  In a statement, the authorities discovered machines and devices used for online gambling, including nearly 2,000 units of smart phones, 533 laptops, cash and ATM cards.  

The group was alleged to have transacted bets of around VND10 trillion or US$435 million.  

Vietnam has taken steps to regulate and legalise online gambling, with the initial permission for sports betting in 2017. All other forms of gambling are illegal in the country, however, they are now on a trial basis to allow people, over the age of 21 and earning a minimum of VND10 million or US$432 to gamble in a casino in Phu Quoc island. 

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