Hanoi police on Thursday busted an illegal online gambling ring that had done up to 64 trillion VND (2.77 billion U.S. dollars) of business, arresting 16 people, Vn Express has reported.
The ringleader, 37-year-old Truong Ngoc Tu, and 15 accomplices ran the online slot machines, which were hosted outside Vietnam, according to the department of cybersecurity and the Ministry of Public Security’s hi-tech crime prevention unit.
Through a mobile app, users deposited cash through a net of agencies where they would be given virtual points that could be cashed out.
The gambling ring would show users how to deposit and take out cash, and then take a 2% commission.
The servers for the gambling games were all hosted on server abroad, so that the gambling ring could easily escape the attention of the authorities.
The ring was made up of a network friends, relatives and IT specialists. They set up business in 2018 and managed to sign up millions of online gamblers, according to police.
Except a small group of casinos and registered lotteries, gambling is illegal Vietnam, with any legal gamblers having to meet strict criteria both in ternsm of age and finaces.
Illegal gambling and organizing of such activities can result in up to 50 million VND in fines, as well as jail terms of up to seven years.
