Vietnam cracks down on two multi-million gambling rings

Vietnam’s crackdown on illegal gambling rings continue, and they put a stop to two major operations recently. More than 30 have been arrested or brought in for questions for two online gambling rings, VNExpress reports.

Police arrested 19 in the northern province of Hung Yen on May 23, shutting down an operation that had over 100 bookmakers and volume worth VND2 trillion ($86 million). The alleged leader of the operation, Pham Cong Bang, was 29 years old, with three accomplices operating out of a rented house in Thai Binh province.

They didn’t run their own site, that would be too easy to catch. Instead, they opened sites with international gambling sites and acted as brokers for locals who wanted to make bets.

In another raid on the same day, police in Hai Duong announced they were investigating 16 people for gambling crimes. Their operation is a bit different, using software provided by the suspects to play online dice and card games for tokens which can be sold for cash. Police suspect the opation is worth VND 1 trillion ($43 million).