HO CHI MINH CITY, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese police on Thursday arrested a vice director of a local software company, who ran an illegal online gambling ring involving thousands of people nationwide with total bets worth hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars.
The detainee is Nguyen Thi Kheo, a 34-year-old woman from southern An Giang province, vice director of Asian Livetech software service company based in Ho Chi Minh City, said the Hi-tech Crime Prevention and Control Department.
According to the department's investigation, Kheo has organized different forms of illegal online gambling and betting via a website since 2011. Her company is an affiliate to a firm based in Cambodia.
Gambling, except in government licensed casinos, is illegal in Vietnam. Anyone found to be in violation of this law is subject to steep fines and/or a severe prison sentence. Access to licensed casinos is still restricted to holders of foreign passports, but this restriction will be abolished soon.
