Is gambling with amounts under 5 million VND subject to criminal prosecution?

Reply

Clause 1, Article 321 of the 2015 Penal Code, as amended in 2017, stipulates as follows:

“1. Anyone who engages in illegal gambling in any form where the stakes involve money or objects worth from 5,000,000 to less than 50,000,000 VND, or less than 5,000,000 VND but has already been fined for this offense or the offense stipulated in Article 322 of this Code, or has been convicted of this crime or the crime stipulated in Article 322 of this Code and has not had their criminal record expunged and commits the offense again, shall be fined from 20,000,000 to 100,000,000 VND, sentenced to non-custodial correctional labor for up to 3 years, or imprisoned from 6 months to 3 years.”

Therefore, gambling is only subject to criminal prosecution when the stakes involve money or objects worth 5,000,000 VND or more.Only then would gambling be considered a crime.

In cases where the value of the gambling involved is less than 5,000,000 VND, criminal liability will not be pursued, but only administrative penalties will be imposed, with the penalty levels stipulated in Decree No. 144/2021/ND-CP dated December 31, 2021, of the Government, which regulates administrative penalties for violations in the fields of security, order, social safety; prevention and control of social evils; fire prevention and fighting; rescue and relief; and prevention and control of domestic violence, specifically:

ButA fine of 200,000 to 500,000 VND will be imposed for the act of buying lottery numbers or betting on lottery results.

ButA fine of VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts: Illegal gambling in any form such as dice rolling, card games like "ta la," "to tom," "tu lo kho," "tam cuc," "3 cay," "tu sac," "do den," "co the," "binh an do 6 la," "binh xap xam 13 la," "tien len 13 la," cockfighting, "tai xiu," or other forms with the purpose of winning or losing money, property, or objects; Illegal gambling using machines or electronic games; Illegal betting in sports competitions, entertainment activities, or other activities."

However, not all first-time gambling offenses involving less than 5,000,000 VND are exempt from criminal prosecution. The Penal Code also stipulates that individuals who, despite being first-time gamblers, have previously been subject to one of two penalties: administrative sanctions for gambling or organizing gambling or facilitating gambling; or have been convicted of gambling or organizing gambling or facilitating gambling and whose convictions have not been expunged, and who commit the offense again, will also be prosecuted for the crime of gambling.