Ring removed
Vietnam’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has orchestrated the dismantling of a sophisticated $34.6m soccer betting ring.
The national crimebusting bureau announced last week that it had taken 19 into custody and hit them with charges of gambling and organizing gambling via online soccer betting for an illegal profit.
Among those charged is super-agent Nguyen Viet Duy, 37, whom authorities accuse of directly running the network across multiple Vietnam provinces and cities.
power to handle and extend 6 to 6.5 million points worth of bets/credit per month
According to The Star, Duy’s super master agent account with an illegal betting platform gave him the power to handle and extend 6 to 6.5 million points worth of bets/credit per month.
Vietnamese officials reported that from September 2025 to January, around 30 million points were used for betting on soccer games, a figure that translates to VNĐ900bn ($34.6m).
Smooth criminals
The professional, tiered nature of the crime ring is apparent in how Duy issued Master, Agent, and Member betting agent accounts with the illegal platform to other individuals in his network.
bets exceeding VNĐ20m ($770) per match
Duy and his fellow suspects used the accounts to attract customers to bet on soccer matches across multiple tournaments and net illegal profits including bets exceeding VNĐ20m ($770) per match.
Every Monday, all 19 suspects admitted to police, they would settle wins and losses from the weekend’s soccer bets “via direct cash payments or transfers through multiple bank accounts.”
Strategic takedown
The takedown of the network is a coup for the CID, which deployed its Division of Social Evils-Related Crimes Prevention and Investigation arm to prepare evidence, set up a task force to bust the ring and prosecute the suspects.
The CID sent a report from this specialist arm on January 28 to Vietnamese national security, which approved the coordinated operation leading to the emergency search and arrest of the suspects in Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang Province last week.
Law enforcement officials seized tools, equipment, and paperwork linked to organizing and operating online gambling. With all ringleaders, prime and linked suspects arrested, the task force dismantled after successfully completing its operation.
