More than a hundred officers from the Ministry of Public Security and the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai raided multiple locations, mainly in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, and arrested 22 people it says were involved in a major online gambling ring.
According to the police, the ring run by 48-year-old Huynh Ngoc Anh ran illegal sports betting, an online casino, and an online lottery through Bong88.com, Bong88.net, Booking88.net, and SmartBooking88.net utilizing overseas servers. Players created accounts to buy virtual currency to use for the gambling.
Police added that the network had been in operation for quite some time and had stakes of around VND3 trillion (US$130 million) this year alone.
Illegal gambling in Vietnam carries potential punishments of up to seven years in prison and VND50 million in fines.
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