Nghe An resolutely prevents online gambling
(Baonghean.vn) - Recently, the situation of high-tech crimes organizing betting and gambling on the internet has become complicated, creating instability in social order. There are large-scale lines with "huge" transaction amounts, operating inter-provincially and internationally with many sophisticated tricks, making it difficult for authorities to investigate and solve cases.
Dismantling many large-scale lines
In reality, although gambling is always vigorously eradicated and contained by authorities, there are still some new developments in its nature and methods of operation.
Notably, subjects have thoroughly exploited the internet and telecommunications networks to conduct gambling activities in many forms, such as: football betting, lottery, online gambling under the guise of online games that exchange rewards from virtual money to real money and vice versa...
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| Subjects in the inter-provincial online gambling ring "Choang Club". Photo: Ngoc Hoang |
In recent times, the authorities of Nghe An province have fought and eradicated many networks and solved many major cases. Typically, at the end of 2021, through information provided by the masses and through the work of grasping the local situation, the police force discovered many young people in Nghe An province and many other provinces and cities taking advantage of the convenience of 24/7 online payment services and online savings deposits of banks to participate in online gambling.
During the investigation, the Task Force discovered a network.gamblelarge scale from the website http://www.choangc1.club led by Nguyen Ngoc Hoang (born 1992), residing in Gia Lam commune, Lam Ha district, Lam Dong.
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| Nguyen Van Hoang is the leader of the inter-provincial online gambling ring "Choang Club". Photo: Ngoc Hoang |
This is a large-scale online gambling ring with "henchmen" in about 10 provinces and cities stretching from North to South. To operate the gambling ring, Hoang bought equipment, rented locations and connected with gambling organizations abroad.
After monitoring for exactly 2 hours on December 30, 2021, the Nghe An Police Investigation Team coordinated with a number of units and localities to mobilize more than 100 officers and soldiers divided into 12 working groups to simultaneously search 12 locations in many provinces and cities such as Nghe An, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Lam Dong, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Thanh Hoa... successfully arresting 14 subjects, including the mastermind and leader Nguyen Ngoc Hoang. The total confiscated evidence included: 5 desktop computers, 23 mobile phones, 19 ATM cards, and 15 frozen bank accounts. By January 8, 2022, the subjects were transferred to Nghe An Provincial Police to serve the investigation. Initially, the police determined that Hoang used 5 different accounts to organize gambling, with the Dinh Thanh Hao account alone in Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province, from January 2021 to December 2021, the transaction amount to organize gambling amounted to 36 billion VND.
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| Female assistants in the online gambling ring "Choang clup". Photo: Ngoc Hoang |
Previously, in September 2021, the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention, Nghe An Provincial Police coordinated with Nghi Loc District Police to successfully eradicate an illegal inter-provincial online gambling ring with a transaction amount of over 50 billion VND, arresting 09 subjects. Accordingly, through the work of grasping the situation on cyberspace, the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention, Nghe An Provincial Police discovered on the internet an "online casino" disguised as a game with rewards.
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| 9 subjects in the online gambling ring were arrested by the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention in coordination with Nghi Loc District Police in September 2021. Photo: Hong Ngoc |
Their method is to collude with the subjects managing and illegally releasing the online card game applications "No Hu, B29, Choang G88" to open a level 2 online game money agency for the purpose of buying and selling virtual money in the game. To have money to participate in gambling, players must use real money to buy virtual money in the game, and at the same time convert virtual money into real money. On September 15, 2021, the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control coordinated with Nghi Loc District Police to successfully dismantle this illegal online gambling ring, arresting a group of 09 subjects residing in Nghe An, Bac Giang, Quang Tri, Gia Lai provinces. The seized exhibits include 01 car, 03 laptops, 20 mobile phones, 10 bank cards, 05 phone SIM cards and related documents. Authorities have clarified that the amount of money the subjects used for gambling from the beginning of 2020 until it was destroyed was up to over 50 billion VND.
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| The GamVip online gambling ring with Pham Van Ninh as a level 2 agent was dismantled by Nghe An police. Photo courtesy |
These inter-provincial and transnational online gambling lines not only cause public outrage but also lead to many consequences for society and are also the cause of many other types of crimes.
Resolutely prevent
Online gambling is an illegal act, depending on the nature and severity, it can be subject to administrative sanctions or even criminal prosecution. Specifically, according to Article 28 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP, people who gamble using illegal machines or electronic games can be fined from 1 million to 2 million VND.
In addition, according to Article 321 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended and supplemented in 2017): Anyone who illegally gambles in any form, wins or loses in money or in kind worth from VND 5,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000 or under VND 5,000,000, has been administratively sanctioned for this act or the act specified in Article 322 of the Penal Code or has been convicted of this crime or the crime specified in Article 322 of the Penal Code, has not had his/her criminal record expunged and continues to violate, shall be subject to non-custodial reform for up to 03 years or imprisonment from 06 months to 03 years.
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Imprisonment from 03 years to 07 years for gambling cases: (Professional in nature; Money or objects used for gambling worth 50,000,000 VND or more; Using the internet, computer networks, telecommunications networks, electronic means to commit crimes; Dangerous recidivism). Offenders may also be fined from 10,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND.
In addition, according to the guidance of the Supreme People's Court in Official Dispatch 196/TANDTC-PC on the circumstance of "using the internet, computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic means to commit crimes", using the internet and electronic means to gamble online is an aggravating circumstance of the crime of gambling, which can be punished with imprisonment from 03 to 07 years.
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| Evidence seized by authorities when dismantling an online gambling ring. Photo: Hong Ngoc |
In Nghe An, to prevent high-tech crimes in general and online gambling in particular, on May 19, 2021, the Provincial People's Committee issued Directive No. 17/CT-UBND on strengthening solutions to prevent and combat high-tech crimes. In particular, it requires functional agencies to launch attacks to suppress high-tech crimes, especially criminal networks and gangs using high technology to organize gambling and football betting on cyberspace on a large scale across provinces, with foreign elements. Previously, the provincial police also issued Plan No. 169/KH-CAT-PV01 dated February 10, 2020 to direct the promotion of advisory work, organizing and implementing solutions to combat and combat crimes and gambling.
Thereby, focusing on directing the review, deploying attacks, sweeps, organizing strong and accurate strikes on gambling gangs and subjects.
At the same time, it is recommended that the authorities tighten loopholes in the use of telecommunications scratch cards and electronic payment wallets to serve disguised gambling lines; tighten management of server rental services, server hosting, domain names, etc. Coordinate with the People's Procuracy and the People's Court of the same level to select major gambling cases as model cases to focus on investigating, prosecuting, and strictly trying them according to the provisions of law to increase education and deterrence.
Recently (May 16, 2022), Nghe An Police issued Document No. 1087/CATPA05 on preventing the posting of online gambling and betting advertising content on electronic information pages. Accordingly, in order to strengthen network security, information security, and prevent advertising of football betting, prostitution, and online gambling, the Provincial Police requested departments, branches, sectors, and People's Committees of districts, cities, and towns to direct: Organize the review of articles advertising football betting, prostitution, and online gambling on the electronic information page to promptly remove them. Strengthen measures to ensure information security and safety, proactively review and fix existing weaknesses and security holes (if any); add the feature of storing users' IP addresses when posting content on the electronic information page