More than 300 Ho Chi Minh City police officers carried out simultaneous raids across several provinces in late July, arresting 139 people and seizing 175 mobile phones, multiple computers, nearly VND 6.8 billion and USD 56,000, VnExpress reported1. On August 16, Nguyen Tan Nguyen, Nguyen Thanh Nha, 44, and 82 others were prosecuted and detained by Ho Chi Minh City police on charges of organizing gambling and gambling1.
Investigators said Nguyen and Nha led an online football betting network that linked up with foreign criminals, bought accounts from football betting sites, split into multiple tiers and drew in hundreds of agents and bettors1.
The Ho Chi Minh City Police Board of Directors directed the Criminal Police Division to lead the case, coordinating with several professional units to establish a special project1. The city's People's Committee leadership awarded commendations to the collectives and individuals who took part1. The report described the operation as marking the 80th anniversary of the People's Public Security traditional day and as a statement of the force's determination to attack and dismantle high-tech crime1.
What it means for players
Vietnam prohibits most gambling, and the charges here cover both running a betting operation and placing bets, so people who hold accounts in such networks face the same legal exposure as those who organize them. The network described was an online football betting operation with accounts bought from betting sites and distributed through agents, the kind of arrangement covered in illegal bookmakers in Asia and football betting in Asia. Penalties for gambling in Vietnam are set out in what happens if you are caught gambling in Vietnam, and the general legal position is covered in can I gamble in Vietnam. The enforcement pattern across the region is tracked in crackdowns on offshore online gambling hubs in Asia and have players been arrested for online gambling in Asia. Legal betting options that exist in the region are listed in legal online betting and lottery accounts in Asia.
What happens next
The 83 people named as prosecuted and detained face investigation on charges of organizing gambling and gambling1. No trial date or further court schedule has been reported.
