VietNamNet Bridge - Underground gambling has gone wireless to evade Vietnam’s strict anti-gaming laws.

The King’s Crown Casino website where gamblers can bet online.

At a Ho Chi Minh City café near the airport, a gambler who asked to be known only as T. points to a man concentrating on his laptop.

“He’s gambling now,” says T.

“He sold his luxury car and several motorbikes to pay debts he piled up after only three months of online gambling.”

The story is a common one.

With wifi technology allowing any gambler with a laptop to place bets any time or place, online racketeers appear to be one step ahead of Vietnam’s anti-gambling laws.

T. says he knows jewelry traders, property dealers, artists and wives of wealthy tycoons who all gamble online.

After opening an account at an Internet gambling website, players have to pay a deposit, says T.

Collectors come directly to customers’ doors to collect cash and distribute winnings.

T. says some privileged regular customers can play on credit, also warning that agency collectors don’t hesitate to swipe property if bills don’t get paid.

A recent report said the most popular online casino was operated by King’s Crown Casino in Cambodia, located near the border of southern Vietnam’s Tay Ninh Province.

New gamers have to ask influential gamblers in the city to introduce them over the phone to the manager of the online casino in Cambodia, who will ask employees in HCMC to collect a deposit of no less than US$500 to open an account, said the report.

The article cited a source as saying the casino had two shareholders in HCMC that managed accounts and employees in the southern hub and nearby provinces.

The story said the casino collected up to hundreds of thousands of US dollars per day from gamblers in districts 1, 5 and 10.

One gambler cited in the report said his friend lost nearly $10,000 to King’s Crown.

A police officer from the HCMC Police Department said a number of gamblers had reported being cheated.

Several gamblers said they had won big in their first games before they started losing even bigger.

Some reported that money would mysteriously vanish from their accounts and a few even said their accounts hadn’t ever been opened after paying the deposit.

Investigation

An official from the Ministry of Public Security said an investigation into online gambling rings in Vietnam would be launched.

He said the organizers of online gambling could face criminal charges.

A HCMC police officer said no Internet gambling organization had been caught in Vietnam as the medium was relatively new.

Truong Xuan Tam, deputy chairman of the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province Bar Association, said gamblers could also face criminal charges if VND1 million ($57) or more was involved in the case.

An offense involving less than VND1 million would warrant a fine, he said.

He also said that while owners of the online gambling services might be abroad, locals on their payroll could face criminal charges if caught facilitating gambling in Vietnam.

VietNamNet/TN, TT