Nghe An province dismantles numerous football betting rings during Euro 2024 season.
The European Football Championship (EURO 2024) took place from June 15th to July 15th, 2024. This was a major sporting event, attracting a large audience. However, alongside the excitement of the tournament, criminal activities involving gambling on football matches, especially online betting, also emerged. Consequently, many betting rings were investigated and dismantled by authorities, with amounts reaching billions of Vietnamese dong.
Authorities are continuously dismantling gambling rings.
Most recently, the Yen Thanh District Police dismantled two football betting rings in the area. They arrested 13 individuals and proved that the suspects had used over 300 million VND for gambling.
Specifically, on July 8th, the Yen Thanh District Police arrested 8 individuals, all residing in Ma Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district), for gambling in the form of football betting. During the arrest, the police seized 8 mobile phones, 40 million VND in cash, and various related documents. Initially, the investigating agency has proven that the amount of money used by the suspects for football betting was 260 million VND.
On July 7th, the Yen Thanh District Police successfully cracked a gambling case involving football betting in Trung Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, arresting 5 suspects and seizing 5 mobile phones and 3 ATM cards. Initially, investigators have proven that the total amount of money used by the suspects for gambling was 85 million VND.
Previously, Vinh City Police successfully dismantled an inter-provincial football betting ring involved in the EURO 2024 tournament, arresting 18 suspects. Specifically, through intelligence gathering, Vinh City Police discovered that Ho Xuan Hoa (born in 1989), residing in Minh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, and temporarily residing in Di An city, Binh Duong province, was taking advantage of the EURO 2024 finals to organize online football betting for gamblers. To avoid detection by the police, Hoa claimed to be visiting his hometown in Yen Thanh district, but in reality, he was operating and organizing betting activities for gamblers on matches taking place during EURO 2024.
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In response to this situation, to promptly combat and dismantle the inter-provincial mobile football betting ring and arrest the suspects, the Vinh City Police established a special task force. Through persistent and flexible implementation of various operational measures, on July 2nd, the Vinh City Police successfully cracked the case, dismantling a mobile, inter-provincial gambling ring operating through online football betting. They simultaneously deployed 18 task forces to arrest 18 suspects in the provinces of Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Ho Chi Minh City. The seized evidence included 18 mobile phones and numerous documents and other items related to the organization and operation of gambling.
Initially, the Vinh City Police clarified that on July 1, 2024, suspect Ho Xuan Hoa organized gambling for participants with stakes exceeding 1.3 billion VND. Currently, the case is being further investigated and expanded by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Vinh City Police.
Do not participate in any form of gambling.
According to authorities, gambling crimes in the form of football betting are extremely complex in terms of form and scale, ranging from spontaneous, simple, and small-scale operations to organized networks and gangs operating across provinces and internationally, with very sophisticated methods.
There are online football betting rings formed by professional gambling ringleaders who connect with individuals and bookmakers managing betting websites. These websites have servers located abroad and are used to create smaller networks for online football betting in Vietnam, employing various attractive advertising and solicitations openly in Vietnamese. Players only need internet-connected devices, register a member account, and open a personal bank account to participate in betting.
In particular, many players are provided with gambling accounts, passwords, and a small amount of virtual money upfront for betting. If they lose and cannot pay, these individuals may use coercive methods such as illegal detention, extortion, or hiring criminals to collect debts. This is the cause of many types of crimes, such as theft and fraud.
It has been determined that football betting will cause very serious consequences, affecting security and order in the area. Based on the direction of the Ministry of Public Security, the leadership of the Provincial Police, professional units, and police in districts, towns, and cities in the province have intensified propaganda and dissemination of legal regulations, methods, tactics, and the consequences of gambling to all levels of the population. At the same time, they have reviewed and monitored the situation, applied a comprehensive range of professional measures, and vigorously combated gambling dens and networks organizing gambling in the form of football betting.
According to authorities, the fight against and handling of crimes related to football betting has shown that combating gambling and online football betting is quite difficult, as the perpetrators are often very sophisticated in their methods of operation.
As seen in the successful case cracked by Vinh City Police on July 2nd, led by Ho Xuan Hoa, Hoa used a master agent account to organize an online gambling ring for gamblers in Vinh City, Do Luong and Yen Thanh districts (Nghe An province), and Thanh Hoa, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, and Dong Nai provinces. This was a highly professional operation with many tricks to evade law enforcement. Ho Xuan Hoa only recruited and provided gambling accounts to acquaintances with sufficient financial means. All gambling transactions were conducted online via smartphones.
According to the authorities, for these cases to be successful, in addition to the perseverance and hard work of the detectives and investigators, the cooperation of many professional forces is also needed. Only then can sufficient evidence and exhibits be gathered to force the suspects to admit their crimes.
Betting on football is also a form of gambling. According to Article 321 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, which stipulates the crime of gambling, those participating in football betting may be prosecuted.
Specifically, the penalty may be non-custodial correctional labor for up to 3 years or imprisonment from 6 months to 7 years. In addition, the offender may also be fined from 10,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND.
Dr. Nguyen Trong Hai, Lawyer - Director of Trong Hai & Associates Law Firm
It can be said that online football betting crimes have thoroughly exploited the development of science and technology, operating in increasingly complex and sophisticated ways. However, these criminal acts leave traces and will be detected, investigated, and severely punished by law enforcement agencies. Therefore, in addition to the warnings from authorities, every citizen needs to fully understand the positive entertainment values of the "king of sports," watch football with a healthy mindset, and refrain from participating in or organizing football betting in any form.
At the same time, it is important to manage, educate, and encourage relatives and those around you to raise awareness and stay away from football betting. If you detect individuals exhibiting suspicious behavior related to football betting, you should promptly report it to the nearest police station for investigation and resolution, contributing to maintaining social order and safety in each area.