Suspects Tied to $152M Gambling Network Go on Trial in Vietnam

Hanoi People’s Court viewed the case of 58 people who authorities have said are involved in a sprawling illegal gambling scheme that processed an estimated $151.82 million across a variety of websites.

Dozens of Defendants Appear in Illegal Gambling, Money Laundering Case

Prosecutors accuse the defendants of engaging in money laundering and unauthorized online gambling, with the leader of the network, a 45-year-old national, charged with running the entire business.

The court appearance follows raids conducted on May 18, 2025, which led to the capture of multiple individuals involved in the running of such unlicensed websites as CR88, AZBet88, and Bong X9.

The network operated from multiple locations across Laos. The network operated between January 2023 and May 2025, when police were finally able to close in on the network and arrest key suspects in the case, with the total value of the gambling handle generated estimated to be at least $151.82 million.

The source of wealth was then obfuscated through popular accounting tricks, funneling sums into personal bank accounts, and at least $760,000 laundered this way.

The network also used various marketing techniques to recruit both workers and bettors, running a live stream service and also obtaining credits from foreign operators and redistributed to interested players.

A 14-member customer support team rounded out the operation, handling account creation, deposits, withdrawals, and password resets through Telegram, with staff supervised from Hanoi. The trial is expected to last three days.