Advertising is everywhere, people can easily access and bet "illegally"
In January 2017, Decree 06/2017/ND‐CP on horse racing, dog racing and international football betting business was officially issued. In particular, the pilot of international football betting activities in Vietnam was of interest.
However, in reality, the implementation of Decree 06/2017/ND-CP is not going smoothly. Over the years, only one enterprise has invested in a dog racing track and was eligible for betting business but closed in 2023.
No enterprise participates in international football betting business even though Decree 06/2017/ND‐CP was issued. Part of the reason comes from the fact that this is a "sensitive" and "not encouraged for development" business. Therefore, there has been no specific progress in the past 8 years.
On the contrary, participation in international football betting "illegally" through websites takes place on a large scale. There have even been a series of influential people on social networks (KOLs), famous actors and singers who have been heavily punished for advertising betting websites and gambling on the internet.
The easiest channel to access "gammers" is the websites that broadcast "illegal" international football. Currently, just type into Google's search engine bar the keywords " Live football", " Live match"... a series of illegal football broadcasting websites appear on the first page.
In addition to matches in major tournaments such as the World Cup, AFC Champions League, UEFA Champions League, Premier League, Bundesliga or La Liga... youth tournaments, sub- tournaments in continents, countries, even V.League and Vietnam U levels are also included in the betting system.
During the match monitoring process, the audience will hear commentators directly advertising the betting page, how to deposit money, and how to bet.
There are many betting methods such as the winning/losing score, which team handed over the ball first, the number of corners, yellow cards/red cards, the number of fouls, the number of throw-ins.
Even football but other sports such as volleyball, basketball, badminton, tennis... are also broadcast on illegal channels to commit online betting.
Many websites are advertised as having overseas servers, creating a sense of safety for gamblers who bet in violation of the law. The amount of bet ranges from a few hundred thousand VND to billions of VND.
After that, many money laundering and money transfer activities were carried out abroad, causing great losses.
Recently, the Ministry of Public Security and authorities of provinces and cities have continuously dismantled many international football betting rings across the country, betting on many matches in V.League, youth tournaments in Vietnam. The amount of money that the subjects illegally traded amounted to thousands of billions of VND in each case.
Typically, in mid-September, the Criminal Police Department dismantled the online football betting ring bong88.com led by Hoang Ta Minh Cuong, with a transaction amount of up to VND4,500 billion.
At the end of August, Bac Ninh Provincial Police and the Police of Son La, Ninh Binh, Hanoi, Yen Bai localities fought and destroyed a large-scale gambling ring in the form of football betting, with a transaction amount of more than 400 billion VND.
Regarding betting websites and online gambling, the statistics make many people startled. For example, in the third and fourth quarters of 2022 alone, the Ministry of Information and Communications announced a list of 146 websites with signs of violating the law.
Meanwhile, through only the first 4 rounds of the 2023-2024 Premier League, there were 3,213 free links for 39 matches (illegally). The main content source of these pages is taken from businesses that provide official services, such as K+, FPT Play, TV360, MyTV...
Through viewing links and live streaming channels of these matches, the subjects will conduct online betting in many forms. When network operators block these fake football websites, they change their IP addresses and domain names very quickly, it only takes 5-10 minutes and continue to livestream.
Betting business is not easy but rich
At the end of 2024, the Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises (VAFIE) organized a Workshop on "Conspirations on amending and supplementing Decree No. 06/2017/ND-CP". The organizers provided notable figures.
According to research by Ladbrokes (a British sports betting company), betting sales alone, illegal football betting in Vietnam is estimated at 3-5% of GDP.
Obviously, this is still a profession with great appeal. However, businesses that are piloted need to accompany the Government in betting management to avoid negative impacts on society.
In addition to the tax payment obligation, businesses must commit to contributing at least 10% of additional ticket sales after deducting the prize payment cost. This contribution is not exempted, delayed or deducted, even in cases of business losses.
The bonus payment rate depends on the betting ratio and maintains the planned bonus payment rate at a minimum of 65% on ticket sales revenue for each betting product. Enterprises still have to pay taxes and pay other business expenses. Therefore, this is not necessarily a "super-profit" profession.
However, the great legal risks and the fact that authorities are "olds" in gambling and organizing online gambling have caused many people to seek legal betting activities.
It is difficult to say that legitimate betting businesses will easily dominate the market share against "illegal" betting channels. Because the amount of money betted on official channels is limited while the "illegal" channel has no limit.
However, managing football betting, dog racing, and horse racing activities through piloting betting businesses has become more necessary than ever.
Including it in the framework of sensitive activities that have a great impact on society will help the Government prevent and reduce online gambling activities.
This is also an important basis for the Ministry of Finance to draft and send to the Government. In particular, the business pilot betting company accompanying the authorities to control the situation is a special priority.
