Ho Chi Minh City criminal police are investigating 40 detained people over a network that took online sports bets and ran online games through accounts sourced from contacts in Cambodia, state media reported on August 20, 2025. The 40 face investigation for organizing gambling and for gambling, according to VnExpress1.
Investigators said 13 Vietnamese people obtained betting accounts from contacts in Cambodia and split them across multiple levels for people below them to run gambling operations1. The network drew players in many provinces and cities, and contact, account handovers and betting money moved mainly through online applications and social media, the report said1.
Police searched locations and summoned more than 50 people, seizing dozens of phones, computers and various documents and electronic data1. Beyond betting on sports and games on websites, some people took private wagers by message worth from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dong per match, according to the report1. Investigators put total transactions in the network at nearly VND 600 billion1.
Police have so far opened six related cases and detained 40 people, and say the investigation is being widened1. The Ho Chi Minh City police advised residents not to take part in betting or gambling in any form and not to buy, sell or rent out bank or phone accounts1.
"Công an TP HCM khuyến cáo người dân không tham gia cá cược, đánh bạc dưới mọi hình thức; không mua bán, cho thuê tài khoản ngân hàng, điện thoại."
What it means for players
The case shows how accounts for offshore betting sites reach players in Vietnam: through a chain that starts with contacts in Cambodia and is passed down in smaller portions1. Vietnam does not permit betting on international online sportsbooks, and both running such a network and placing bets through it are treated as offenses, which is why the 40 detained people face investigation on both counts1.
The police warning covers bank and phone accounts as well as betting itself1. Renting or selling an account to someone else can pull an account holder into a gambling investigation even where that person did not place a bet. The report does not say whether any players, as opposed to organizers, were among those detained, and it does not name the websites or applications involved; those details have not been reported1.
For visitors and expats in Vietnam, the practical point is that the accounts and the money trail, not the location of the betting site, are what investigators followed here1. The report gives no figures on how many players used the network or how much any individual staked.
What happens next
Police say they are continuing to widen the investigation after opening six cases and detaining 40 people1. No trial dates, further arrest figures or asset recovery totals have been reported1.
For background on how Vietnam and its neighbors treat players and organizers, see Online Gambling in Asia: The Law for Players in 12 Jurisdictions and Have Players Been Arrested for Online Gambling in Asia? Cases by Jurisdiction. The Cambodia side of the account chain is covered in Can I Gamble in Cambodia?.
