Da Nang police announed on Tuesday morning that they have broken up an online football gambling ring worth hundreds of billion Vietnamese dongs led by Nguyen Anh Tung, 37, from  Vinh Trung Ward, Thanh Khe District, arresting five people as the city authorities look to stop black market betting that surges during sporting events.

Nguyen Anh Tung (right) is being questioned at the police station. Photo: L.H

Gambling is illegal in Viet Nam apart from the state-run lottery and a few casinos which are only open to foreigners.

Five people have been arrested for allegedly operating online gambling website for people to bet on domestic football league and world matches.

Five persons were arrested separately on charges of collusion in running an online gambling operation, and persuading people either directly or indirectly to bet online.

They were identified as Nguyen Anh Tung, 37, Dang Ngoc Thinh ,37,  Phan Truong Thanh, 46, Vo Quang Hien, 38, and Pham Van Do, 50.

Seized from them were nearly 5,000 pages of documents and many objects related to football betting.

Da Nang investigators found bets had been placed via Super Master account operated by Nguyen Anh Tung since February 2020.

“Since April 1, 2021, the total transactions of the gambling ring have been worth around VND 55 billion and nearly 41,000 people have used its services”,  said Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Nam Hai, Head of the Criminal Police Division under the Da Nang Police Department.

Officers continues to push for further investigations.

Reporting by LE HUNG – Translating by H.L