Illegal betting up in Vietnam during World Cup

Jul 6, 2010, 5:55 GMT

Hanoi - The number of people arrested for gambling in Vietnam increased sharply since the beginning of the football World Cup, senior police officials said Tuesday.

Colonel Vu Viet Phang, head of the Ministry of Public Security's Department for Anti-Social Crime and Prevention, said police busted 30 football betting rings in June, up from two the month before the World Cup stared and arrested hundreds of gamblers.

Betting is illegal under Vietnamese laws.

Police said related crimes such as murders or robberies were on the rise as well. In June, two people were killed in connection with betting, up from zero such cases since the beginning of the year.

'Crime is on the rise compared with the time before the World Cup because criminals want to get money for football betting,' said Major General Cao Minh Nhan, deputy chief of the ministry's Social Crime Investigation Agency.

Police in the cental province of Khanh Hoa arrested two young men on the weekend for killing a teacher to get money for betting.

In Lam Dong province, also in central Vietnam, police on June 24 arrested a 31-year-old man for killing one man and injuring another because of an argument over lost bets.

Police expect the trend to continue until the end of the World Cup on July 11.

'The closer we get to the [World Cup] final, the more crime we expect,' Nhan said.