Police in Vietnam have announced that they have broken up an online gambling ring that had managed to generate more than $13 million in revenues and arrested six people.
Gambling is illegal in the country, other than a state-run lottery and a couple of foreigner-only casinos.
However, the law is widely ignored, in particular in the run-up to major sporting events that sees many punters turning to illegal gambling dens in order to place online bets.
According to a police official, they arrested five people in Ho Chi Minh City and took one into custody in Hanoi on Tuesday, 10th January 2017.
The police’s official newspaper Cong An Nhan Dan, reported that the gang was behind a betting website that launched in 2015 and was run by a firm in the Philippines. The report also cited police statistics revealing that the total amount of transactions from 2015 until now reached more than $13 million.
The report also alleges that the website enabled punters to move money through bank transfers or ATMs and place bets using crypto-currencies on tennis and football matches, online casino games and the lottery. It went on say that the suspects had admitted organizing and participating in online gambling.
Those arrested face up to 10 years in jail under Vietnam’s criminal code as the country considers gambling to be one of three great “social evils” together with general crime and prostitution.
However, betting is rife in the country with addicts from all over the social spectrum, from white-collar public servants to students and even professional footballers.
