Is gambling under 5 million VND subject to criminal prosecution?
(Baonghean.vn) - Mr. Nguyen Van An in Quy Hop district, Nghe An asked: Is gambling (card games) with an amount of less than 5 million VND punishable by imprisonment?
Reply
Clause 1, Article 321 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, stipulates as follows:
“1. Anyone who illegally gambles in any form, wins or loses in money or in kind worth from 5,000,000 to under 50,000,000 VND or under 5,000,000 VND but has been administratively sanctioned for this act or the act specified in Article 322 of this Code or has been convicted of this crime or the crime specified in Article 322 of this Code, has not had his/her criminal record expunged and continues to violate, shall be subject to a fine of from 20,000,000 to 100,000,000 VND, non-custodial reform for up to 03 years or imprisonment from 06 months to 03 years”.
Thus, gambling behavior is only prosecuted when the gambling results in money or objects worth 5,000,000 VND or more.then commit the crime of gambling.
In case of gambling with property value under 5,000,000, criminal liability will not be prosecuted but only administrative sanctions will be imposed, with the fine level prescribed in Decree No. 144/2021/ND-CP dated December 31, 2021 of the Government stipulating sanctions for administrative violations in the fields of security, order, social safety; prevention and control of social evils; fire prevention and fighting; rescue; prevention and control of domestic violence, specifically:
-Fines from 200,000 to 500,000 VND for buying lottery numbers.
-A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following acts: Illegal gambling in one of the following forms: Xoc Dia, Thirteen, To Tom, Tu Lo Kho, Tam Cuc, 3 Cay, Tu Sac, Do Den, Co The, 6-card Indian Binh, 13-card Binh Xap Xam, Tien Len 13-card, Cockfighting, Tai Xiu or other forms with the purpose of winning or losing money, property or objects; Gambling with illegal machines or electronic games; Illegal betting in sports competitions, entertainment or other activities".
However, not all cases of first-time gambling under 5,000,000 VND are not subject to criminal prosecution. The Penal Code also stipulates that subjects who, although gambling for the first time, have previously been handled in one of two forms: Administrative sanctions for gambling or organizing gambling or gambling; have been convicted of gambling or organizing gambling or gambling but have not had their criminal records cleared, and now continue to violate, will also be prosecuted for criminal liability for gambling.