Online gambling - the hidden dangers behind those clicks of the mouse.

Gambling dens are proliferating.

While gambling used to take place primarily in illegal gambling dens and disguised gambling establishments, it has now shifted dramatically to the internet. Gone are the days of police directly fining gamblers and confiscating evidence; instead, it's a matter of clicks, virtual accounts, and massive amounts of real money.

In Nghe An province, the police force has recently dismantled numerous drug trafficking rings.gambling organizationand transnational money laundering. Specifically, over three days, from April 11-13, 2025, the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department, in coordination with the Criminal Police Department of the Provincial Police and other relevant units, arrested 12 individuals residing in Nghe An province, involved in an online gambling and money laundering ring.

Investigations revealed that these individuals participated in gambling on the website “xxx88” – a website with a domain registered abroad, led by a group of foreign criminals. To evade authorities, they divided into many small groups, using high-tech techniques, applying data encryption, and hiding IP addresses to avoid being traced. From September 2024 until the operation was dismantled, the amount of money gambled on the “xxx88” website reached over 600 billion VND per month, of which more than 500 billion VND was used for money laundering.

The ringleader was Dau Trong Giap (born in 1992), residing in Minh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district (now Van Du commune). In addition, 11 other individuals, including 8 men and 3 women aged 22 to 45, residing in various locations throughout Nghe An province, were directly involved in the money laundering and gambling ring.

Previously, in late August 2024, the Nghe An Provincial Police also coordinated to dismantle a large-scale online gambling ring operating under the form of "binary options betting" (BO) on the website "Lokichi.com". This system had servers located abroad, operated by foreign nationals, while in Vietnam it was led by Tran Vu Toan (born in 1990, Ho Chi Minh City) and Nguyen Dinh Khoi (born in 1994, Dak Lak).

In Nghe An province, the police arrested four individuals: Hoang Thi Hoa (born in 1982), residing in Hung Dung ward, Vinh City (now Truong Vinh ward); Trinh Xuan Duc (born in 2001), residing in Nghi Phong commune, Nghi Loc district (now Vinh Loc ward); Tran Thi Xuan (born in 1987), residing in Ben Thuy ward, Vinh City (now Truong Vinh ward); and Hoang Thi Thu Trang (born in 1987), residing in Lac Son commune, Do Luong district (now Thuan Trung commune). From the beginning of 2024 until their arrest, this group had transacted over 10 million USDT, equivalent to 250 billion VND.

In reality, social media is currently flooded with advertisements for online gambling and betting – from short videos and posts to flashing banners. With just one click, users are immediately redirected to a registration page, guided through easy account opening instructions, and required no complicated verification. Even local restaurants and shops are being lured into displaying "free advertising signs" with logos and links to websites like TK88.com, MM99.AE, MU88.CN…

Even more worrying, to attract players, gambling rings are launching a series of attractive promotional schemes such as offering bonuses when opening an account, cashback on losses, promising "free trials," or guaranteeing "easy withdrawals when winning bets."

A sufficiently strong legal framework is needed.

Online gambling crimes not only cause economic losses but also lead to a series of social consequences. Many people lose money gambling, resulting in debt, bankruptcy, theft, and fraud; numerous families are broken apart because of online gambling. More seriously, online gambling also serves as a "gateway" for other crimes such as money laundering, loan sharking, illegal detention, extortion, and organized crime.

In reality, high-tech gambling criminals are increasingly forming alliances with other criminal groups. They operate with sophistication, employing various tactics such as "credit-based gambling" (pay later), "secured gambling" (pay upfront), encrypting all transaction data, hiding IP addresses, and making payments through e-wallets, foreign intermediary gateways, or cross-border transfers. These tactics make it very difficult for authorities to gather evidence and track down the ringleaders.

According to prosecuting authorities, dealing with high-tech gambling crimes currently faces many obstacles: Data is stored on foreign servers, transactions go through multiple layers of intermediaries, and there is a lack of specific documentation. Current laws do not have comprehensive regulations on electronic evidence and mechanisms for cross-border data sharing, leading to a situation where "it is impossible to catch the perpetrators red-handed or trace the source." Furthermore, the penalties for those participating in gambling are not sufficiently deterrent.

Given this reality, many legal experts believe that it is urgent to improve the legal framework to keep pace with practice. Specifically, the law needs to include clear regulations on online gambling and high-tech crimes; electronic evidence, cross-border transactions; the responsibilities of intermediary payment organizations; and mechanisms for recovering illegally obtained assets to prevent the dissipation of profits.

In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the dissemination of information and education on digital skills and legal knowledge to the public, especially young people – a group easily lured into "virtual gambling dens". The vigilance of the community, families, and schools is a crucial "soft shield" to prevent this problem from the root.

Online gambling is no longer just a virtual game of chance, but is becoming a real problem with tangible consequences. A robust legal framework, modern monitoring technology, and proper public awareness are the three key elements to stop this seemingly invisible crime that is infiltrating every single click of the mouse each day.