Online football betting ring busted in Vietnam

Police in Da Nang, Vietnam have announced the arrest of seven people who allegedly used online facilities to bet ‘millions of dollars’ on international football games.

The newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong reports that the seven include one of the ringleaders, Nguyen Anh Cuong (41) who is likely to be in custody for four months. Two others who were arrested were reportedly cooperating with the police investigations, whilst one man is still being hunted down.

A police spokesman said the gang had been operating since 2000 and catered for affluent Vietnamese; its clientele included senior executives employed by large Vietnamese companies, he said.

The ringleaders used foreign online soccer betting networks to further their enterprise, police revealed, but did not identify specific websites.