Vietnam: Chinese couple investigated for illegal gambling

Police have reported that a China couple is being investigated for allegedly recruiting Vietnamese citizens to work for an illegal online gambling platform.

Vietnam.- Officers are investigating a Chinese couple for allegedly running an illegal online gambling sitewith servers outside the country. According to police, the couple and around 20 Vietnamese men and women were arrested for operating the illegal platform. 

After receiving complaints, police raided a rented house and seized seven computers, 110 smartphones, 16 sim cards, 16 bank cards, and money. A woman is suspected of hiring three Vietnamese citizens and paying them between US$350 to US$440 a month to advertise the gambling platform on social media.

Those hired were also obliged to act like gamblers in order to attract people to gamble on the platform. Vietnamese citizens are allowed to enter only two casinos and must pass strict criteria in order to do so.

In March, casino operators asked the government to expand Vietnamese citizens’ access to casinos in major tourist destinations such as Quang Nam and Ba Ria-Vung Tau to help casinos face the loss of revenue from tourists owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the government has said the current scheme won’t be expanded.