Police in Vietnam have busted an illegal $1.9m betting ring focused on Euro and Copa America soccer games. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Police in Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province have busted an illegal sports betting ring reported to have made big money in just a little over a week.

a total of over VND50bn ($1.9m) within eight days

According to VN Express, the soccer betting ring’s transactions hit a total of over VND50bn ($1.9m) within eight days. The huge volume of betting action reflects the mood in soccer-loving Vietnam as two major tournaments are currently underway, namely Euro 2024 and the Copa America.

As in Thailand recently, where police arrested over 1,500 suspects caught betting illegally on the European tournament in Germany, criminal gangs in Vietnam are also making the most of the soccer betting window bonanza.

On Monday, however, police arrested over 20 people suspected as being part of the $1.9m betting ring focused on the Euro and Copa tournaments. Officials named Nguyen Huu Loc, a 41-year-old resident of the central Vietnam province where the busts occurred, as the ring’s mastermind.

According to media reports, police summoned Loc and over 20 others for questioning on June 30. After investigating data dating from May 23, authorities on Monday had enough to arrest the group on organized online gambling charges.

In Vietnam, sports betting and most other forms of gambling are illegal.