Da Nang’s Hai Chau Police has arrested Can Toan, 48, for illegally having conducted World Cup 2018 betting activities right at his own coffee shop at 227 Hung Vuong.

A total of over 10 persons have been put in custody for their involvement into the football betting ring

In detail, at around 10.40pm on 15 July when the World Cup 2018 final match was taking place, Toan and 11 bettors were caught red-handed by the police whilst they were wagering on this match via a website ‘Bong88’.

In this crime ring, Toan served as a bookie who holds on to money from bettors then pays them if they win, and he keeps their money if they don’t on the basis of agreed-upon odds.

During his interrogations, Toan admitted that, since early February, he had conducted illegal transactions with bettors via the website.

Of note, since the 2018 FIFA World Cup’s opening, the total amount of online betting transactions had been reached more than billions of VND.

Gambling is currently illegal in Viet Nam except for a state-run lottery and a few foreigner-only casinos, and anyone caught gambling or organising gambling could face up to 10 years in jail under the national criminal code.

Last month, Viet Nam legalised sports betting after the National Assembly passed the Law on Sports and Physical Training, but the new law will not come into effect in full until next year.

To date, no business has been able to obtain a licence to be a football bookmarker in Viet Nam. Therefore, wagering on matches during the 2018 FIFA World Cup is not totally allowed in the country.