Illegal Online Gambling Operation Shutdown In Vietnam

In a continuation of their crackdown on gambling, authorities in Vietnam have collapsed an online gaming operation worth over $26 million. 10 people were arrested in the raid, with Vietnamese officials stating that this is just the beginning of a tough crackdown.

Gambling In Vietnam

Vietnam, like many other Asian countries, doesn’t permit gambling. Nevertheless, a lot of its citizens enjoy the practice.

Vietnam has a long history with gambling, and has brick-and-mortar casinos for tourists only. This has forced citizens to go underground with gambling operations, which rake in millions of dollars without paying any tax. There are severe punishments for running online casinos in Vietnam.

The Raid

After a tip-off and several weeks of observation, Vietnamese authorities raided a number of houses across several cities.

Two rifles were seized, along with cash amounting to $20,000, and several cars and mobile phones. It is believed that the suspects used all these items in their online gambling ring and an illegal loanshark operation. And these two ventures allegedly had many of the same customers.

There were several gambling websites and sportsbooks running, and online casino gaming was included.

The ring was largely based in southern and central Vietnam, and had only been operating for a few months. The ringleader has been identified as Hyunh Quoc Viet.

More Operations Planned

While this was a sizeable sting, police have hinted that larger raids may be in the works. If further raids do occur, the likelihood is the seizure of as much as half a billion dollars and more than 100 arrests.

This activity sheds light on serious problems in Vietnam. The online raids have been in houses/apartments in the country’s more poverty-stricken areas, and it is likely that this poverty is the prime motivator for crime.

The people involved are vulnerable to entrepreneurial figures online, who entice them into running online casinos with the promise of good money. Often, these entrepreneurial figures are offshore groups, immune to Vietnamese law.

But the people being arrested are Vietnamese citizens, who refuse to leak information about their funding sources. It is likely that Vietnam’s illegal gambling woes will continue, either until the practice is legalised or people get tired of the stress of doing it illegally.

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