Vietnam i-gambling ring bust

[jetset]

VIETNAM NOT YET SAFE

SE Asian government may be moving toward regulation, but for now it's police business as usual

Despite an active program to legalise and regulate online gambling, the South East Asian country of Vietnam continues to enforce gambling bans with enthusiasm, and this week police in Ho Chi Minh City busted a major gambling ring, seizing over $400 000 in allegedly illegally obtained cash.

Police raided a major Internet football betting ring last Sunday, arresting 14 bookmakers and seizing money worth over VND7 billion (US$437,500). The raid followed a covert surveillance investigation before specialist officers, assisted by forces from the central police department, moved in with 100 officers, simultaneously raiding 13 premises. They caught illegal bookies taking billions in the local currency in bets.

14 offenders confessed they were bookies working for a major gang with close connections with unidentified sports betting firms abroad.

The police said some of the arrested men were skilled at using computers and were in charge of classifying and summing up bets before sending them abroad via the Internet.

The gang’s clients were from the city and nearby provinces.

The 13 offices in districts 10, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, and Thu Duc were all well-equipped with high-speed Internet, LCD monitors, and laptops, the police said.

Investigations are continuing and widening.