Apple takes down gambling apps at Vietnam’s behest

It said Vietnam had sought the removal of 29 apps from the App Store between July and December last year, the requests being "predominantly related to illegal gambling app investigations and unlicensed gaming apps investigations," the report released on Tuesday said. It did not identify the apps.

Vietnam was among 11 countries to make similar requests, and as a result Apple removed 634 apps. A majority, 517, were taken down at China’s demand since they violated its gambling and pornography laws.

Online betting remains illegal in Vietnam though the country has in recent years relaxed its stance on gambling as a "social evil."