Many illegal online gambling organizers have devised games that exploit users’ transactions through e-wallets and banking applications to easily attract players in Vietnam.

There are currently many online communities on Facebook and Telegram, as well as independent websites that offer betting games based on the transaction codes of e-wallets.

A Facebook group named ‘Chan le MoMo va chan le Zalo’ (Odd-even MoMo and odd-even Zalo) boasting over 11,000 members is one such example.

The group, self-described with phrases like ‘payment in five seconds,’ ‘trustworthy,’ and ‘fair,’ consistently shares enticing prizes in its posts to lure in new players.

It advertises various gambling types such as odd-even, high-low, three dice total, progressive jackpot, and more.

In order to take part in a bet, a player transfers a bet amount to the organizer’s e-wallet account, specifying the bet types such as ‘C-L’ for even-odd or ‘T-X’ for high-low in the transfer message.

The outcome, whether a win or loss, hinges on the transaction code generated automatically after the successful money transfer by the player. 

If the result aligns with the player’s prior prediction, they secure a victory and receive payment; otherwise, they forfeit the bet amount.

The minimum betting amount per round is VND10,000 (US$0.41) and the maximum is VND5 million ($207). 

Each e-wallet account is allowed to place up to 200 bets per day.

N., a resident of Ho Chi Minh City, said that he participated in these online gambling activities after coming across their advertisements in online videos and through promotions by YouTubers.

“It’s a simple game, and the result is immediate, so I placed a few VND10,000 [$0,41] bets for fun,” N. said, adding that many other players were wagering amounts as high as VND1 million ($41) multiple times a day.

Some websites also provide instructions on evading scrutiny from e-wallets. 

For instance, if a player bets VND1 million, selecting an odd number requires transferring VND1,000,011, while opting for an even number necessitates a transfer of VND1,000,012, with no transaction content required.

These gambling sites also post a daily ranking board showcasing players with the highest wins, often exceeding VND1 million, which suggests that they have also wagered a corresponding amount on bets within a single day.

Hypothetically, if approximately 1,000 players are spending such amounts every day, the total transactions on these online gambling sites could reach a staggering VND1 billion ($41,452) daily. 

In reality, this figure is often much higher. 

Online gambling rings create enticing advertisements and promotions, offering incentives such as initial funds for beginners, discount codes, and special prizes for transaction codes with unique numbers like four or five of a kind. 

These tactics are employed to attract new players and push riskier gambles to existing ones.

Dealers earning from tricks

Despite the enticing portrayal of high winning rates — up to 50 percent of every bet with payouts ranging from 1.95 to 2.35 times the betting amount — in reality, it is the dealer who consistently emerges victorious. 

As a case in point, in an odd-even game, the dealer sets odd numbers as one, three, five, seven, and even numbers as two, four, six, and eight. If the result is zero or nine, all players lose their money to the dealer.

Players face automatic losses for various reasons, including mistakes in bet placement, such as typing incorrect betting content or betting above or below specified amounts. 

An expert who preferred to stay anonymous highlighted that players exceeding 50 turns are at a higher risk of losing money, even with an equal number of wins and losses.

Tens of thousands of daily transactions

Last month, police in Bac Giang Province, northern Vietnam dismantled a large-scale illegal gambling ring utilizing e-wallets, involving transactions totaling up to VND2.8 trillion ($116 million). 

Police officers uncovered the websites clmm.me and clmmz.me exploiting MoMo e-wallet accounts for unlawful gambling activities. 

Investigations revealed that the organizers enlisted popular YouTubers for promotion and hired many people for customer service.

The criminals managed around 7,000 distinct MoMo e-wallet accounts to operate the gambling ring, attracting tens of thousands of participants who engaged in 10,000-50,000 daily transactions. 

The total amount of money gambled ranged from VND1 billion ($41,425) to VND3 billion ($124,275). 

Notably, more than 71,000 e-wallet accounts were involved in this illicit gambling operation.

A challenging issue

Nguyen Ba Diep, co-founder of Vietnamese mobile wallet app MoMo, said he acknowledged that many popular e-wallets and banking applications are being blatantly misused to abet crime.

“They [criminals] employ numerous verified [e-wallet] accounts acquired through buying, selling, or fake identities,” Diep said. 

“Additionally, they utilize devices that emulate banking applications and e-wallets on computers to automatically process bets, scan transaction codes, and reward players.”

He added that addressing the problem of transaction codes being used for gambling is challenging. 

Without a transaction code, e-wallets lack the means to differentiate one transaction from another and to search for a specific transaction within the system.

Elaborating on Diep’s comments, some other experts noted that cashless transactions in Vietnam are on the rise, attracting cybercriminals with advanced technological skills to exploit the trend, giving rise to issues such as online gambling rackets.

E-wallet and banking entities lack the authority and expertise for effective crime identification and prevention. 

Instances of people renting out their identities for banned individuals to open accounts have also been reported. 

Vu Ngoc Son, chief technology officer of the Vietnam National Cyber Security Technology Corp, warns that criminals not only entice illegal activities but may also trick individuals into revealing personal information, installing malware, and gaining unauthorized access to devices, leading to potential theft of money from bank accounts.

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