Six arrested in Vietnam over online betting ring

Six people have been arrested in Vietnam for running an online betting ring based on a server in the Philippines that had attracted thousands of gamblers, state media reported today.

The arrests came as authorities across Southeast Asia were on high alert for a betting spike linked to the ongoing World Cup, and followed a raid in Vietnam on an online football gambling operation last month.

The M88 ring "involved thousands of gamblers across the country" who collectively gambled up to $87 million since 2015, Ministry of Public Security spokesman Cong An Nhan Dan said in the report. "Its website is on a server based in the Philippines, (operates) in different languages and covered all sorts of gambling."