Hanoi People’s Court in Vietnam opened a first-instance trial on May 26, 2026, in a transnational online gambling and money-laundering case. Mai Anh Việt was among 58 defendants who appeared in court.
According to the case report, the group organised online gambling involving total wagers of more than 4 trillion Vietnamese dong between January 2023 and May 2025.
Vietnam News Agency’s account of the case said Mai Anh Việt, born in 1981, hired programmers to set up gambling websites including “Bóng X9” from 2022. From 2023, he operated online gambling activities in Vientiane, Laos, and recruited Vietnamese nationals to help run them.
The report said the group used livestreams and social media to attract gamblers. Mai Anh Việt concealed gambling proceeds through transfers between accounts and participation in rotating savings schemes, with more than 18.8 billion dong involved in the money laundering described in the case.
On May 18, 2025, Lao authorities conducting an inspection at a Vientiane hotel detained 30 Vietnamese nationals, including Mai Anh Việt. The detainees and evidence were subsequently handed over to Vietnam for further investigation and legal proceedings.
Vietnam News Agency reported on May 28, 2026, that the court had issued its first-instance judgment that afternoon: eight years in prison for organising gambling and six years for money laundering, giving Mai Anh Việt a combined 14-year sentence. The other defendants received differing penalties according to their respective offences.
