Police in Vietnam's Nghệ An province announced on 27 June 2026 that they had dismantled an online football betting operation run through the website www.hira88.com, arresting 11 people and documenting more than VND 5 billion in betting turnover in the first six days of the World Cup 2026 finals1.
The provincial police's Criminal Police Division said it identified the network in early May 2026 and found it was organized in multiple tiers, with Lê Văn Hoàng, born 1995 and temporarily residing in Trấn Biên ward, Đồng Nai city, heading the master account in Vietnam1. Hoàng worked with a person abroad to set up a cross-border betting line, then split the master account into sub-accounts and built a multi-layer network across several provinces and cities nationwide, according to the police account1.
Two lower-level agents under Hoàng, Nguyễn Quốc Trường, born 1988, and Trần Hữu An, born 1990, both residing in Đồng Nai city, not only organized betting for others but also bet nearly VND 1 billion themselves, police said1.
The case team arrested 11 people on charges of organizing gambling and gambling, and police said the suspects initially admitted their actions during questioning1.
"từ ngày 17 - 25/6/2026, Ban chuyên án đã đồng loạt tiến hành bắt giữ 11 đối tượng về hành vi Tổ chức đánh bạc và đánh bạc"
The police statement did not name the foreign country involved, did not identify the person abroad, and did not say whether any suspects remain at large. It also did not state the charges filed formally against each of the 11, the amounts attributed to individual accounts beyond the two agents, or what assets were seized. None of those details have been reported1.
What it means for players
Vietnam treats betting on football through unlicensed online sites as a criminal offense, and this case shows enforcement reaching both organizers and the agents who place bets on their own accounts1. The two agents cited by police face allegations covering both roles, which indicates that people who take bets for others and bet themselves can be counted in the same case1.
The operation was identified through a website address, hira88.com, and police said the network was structured in tiers with accounts split from a single master account1. For anyone using offshore football sites during the World Cup, the case illustrates that account records, transaction amounts and dates can be reconstructed by investigators after the fact1. The police statement did not say whether ordinary bettors below the agent level were identified or pursued1.
Vietnam's rules for players, including what is legal and what is not, are set out in our guide to gambling in Vietnam and in gambling laws in Asia. For the wider regional pattern of enforcement against offshore operators, see crackdowns on offshore online gambling hubs in Asia, and for how tournament betting works, see betting on the World Cup in Asia.
What happens next
Police said the case remains under investigation and that the suspects admitted their conduct at the investigation agency1. No trial date, further arrest figures or asset recovery totals have been reported1.
