10 arrested as police bust multi-million dollar gambling ring

By Phuong Son   January 15, 2020 | 12:32 am PT
10 people have been arrested in relation with an online, transnational gambling ring worth $43,000 in Vietnam alone, police said Tuesday.

The suspects, residents of several Vietnam cities and localities including Saigon and Hanoi, were key personnel of the gambling ring, the Ministry of Public Security said.

The ring was busted on January 8, when police found 117 ATM cards, 55 personal IDs and other evidence related to gambling and organizing gambling online.

ATM cards seized by police as evidence in an online gambling ring bust, January 8, 2020. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security.

ATM cards seized by police as evidence in an online gambling ring bust, January 8, 2020. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security.

The actual gambling site was hosted outside Vietnam, police said. The ring collaborated with accomplices in Vietnam to advertise the site and attract thousands of players to it, they added.

Transactions in Vietnam have amounted to at least VND1 trillion ($43 million), preliminary investigations have found.

Vietnam has considerably relaxed its stance on gambling as a "social evil," legalizing sports betting in 2017 and allowing, on a pilot basis, people aged over 21 with a monthly income of at least VND10 million ($432) to play in a casino on the southern Phu Quoc Island.

All other forms of gambling remain illegal however.

 
 
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