346 arrested in World Cup 2026 football betting crackdown in Vietnam

According to Colonel Bui Tuan Anh, deputy director of the Criminal Police Department (C02) under the Ministry of Public Security, authorities launched a nationwide campaign to combat gambling-related crimes throughout the tournament, citing growing concerns over the increasingly sophisticated nature of online betting networks and their links to other criminal activities.

Along with 73 football betting cases busted and 346 people arrested, investigators seized a range of assets and equipment believed to be connected to the offences, while expanding investigations into several large-scale gambling rings.

Col. Anh also warned of a rise in online copyright infringement involving football broadcasts during the tournament. Operators of illegal streaming websites frequently changed domain names, used servers located overseas and employed multiple layers of encryption and other technical measures to conceal their identities, making enforcement more challenging.

Separately, during a nationwide campaign against economic crimes conducted from May 7 to June 19, economic police nationwide initiated legal proceedings in 90 criminal cases involving 142 people related to intellectual property violations, with assets worth an estimated VND94 billion (about US$3.6 million) seized or frozen.

Of the cases prosecuted, 10 involving 43 defendants were related to copyright and related rights infringement, 58 involving 71 defendants concerned industrial property rights infringement, and 22 involving 28 defendants were linked to the production and trading of counterfeit goods.

Eleven arrested in World Cup 2026 online betting ring in Vietnam

VOV.VN - Police in the central province of Nghe An have arrested 11 people after dismantling an online football betting ring that processed more than VND5 billion (about US$190,000) in wagers during the first six days of the FIFA World Cup 2026.