Hanoi busts $69 million online gambling ring

Six people would be charged with organizing gambling and the others with gambling, the Ministry of Public Security said Monday.

Hoang Lai Nam, 41, of Hanoi, one of the suspects, ran the gambling operation through a multilingual website hosted on an oversea server.

It was mainly active in Hanoi, Hai Phong City and Thai Binh Province in the north, and Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbor Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province in the south.

The gang was arrested on July 30 and authorities have seized cash worth $240,000, eight cars, several computers, phones and other items.

The police are continuing to investigate.

Vietnam has considerably relaxed its stance on gambling as a "social evil," legalizing sports betting in 2017 and allowing people aged over 21 with a monthly income of at least VND10 million ($445) to play in a casino in the southern Phu Quoc Island on a pilot basis.

But all other forms of gambling remain illegal.