Vietnam: What is the over/under in football betting? Shall the administrative penalties be imposed on entities taking the over/under in football betting?
What is the over/under in football betting in Vietnam?
The over/under in football betting is a popular form of betting today every time the football season comes. The over/under in football betting will be based on the rule that players will predict the total number of goals of a football match by placing the over/under based on the number given by the bookmaker. When betting, you will place your bet amount for that bet. If you win, you will get money:
- Over is the total number of goals greater than the number given by the bookmaker
- Under is the total number of goals lower than the number given by the bookmaker
A match will count as two rounds within 90 minutes along with injury time. Extra time and penalty shootouts are not counted.
For example, a football match has two rounds, the first half has a score of 1 - 2, and the second half has a score of 3 - 5. Thus, the total of the 1st half had 3 goals, the 2nd half had 8 goals. The total match was 11 goals. The bookmaker puts the number on the total goals as 7. Then, if you set “over”, you win, and if you put “under”, you lose.
Thus, the over/under in football betting is a form of gambling.
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Shall the administrative penalties be imposed on entities taking the over/under in football betting in Vietnam?
Pursuant to the provisions of Points a and c, Clause 2, Article 28 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP on penalties for illegal gambling as follows:
Article 28. Illegal gambling;
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2. A fine of from VND 1.000.000 to VND 2.000.000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:
a) Illegally gambling with one of the forms such as “xoc dia”, “ta la”, “to tom”, “tu lo kho”, “tam cuc”, “3 cay”, “tu sac”, “do den”, “co the”, “binh an do 6 la”, “binh xap xam 13 la”, “tien len 13 la”, “da ga”, “tai xiu” or other forms which are lost or won in cash, property or in kind;
b) Gambling with machine or illegal electronic games;
c) Illegally betting in sports competition, entertainment or other activities.
According to the guidance in Resolution 01/2010/NQ-HDTP (expired from October 8, 2021) on the application of the provisions of Articles 248 and 249 of the 2015 Criminal Code issued by the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court as follows:
Regarding provisions of Article 248 of the Criminal Code
1. Illegal gambling means gambling acts in whatever form for the purpose of earning winnings in cash or in kind without permission of a competent state agency or with permission of a competent state agency but at variance with the granted license.
Thus, taking the over/under in football betting in whatever winning form for earnings in cash or kind without permission from a competent state agency or with permission from a competent state agency but at variance with the granted license is determined as illegal gambling.
Thus, entities taking over/under in football betting in Vietnam may face administrative fines ranging from 1,000,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND.
In what cases will entities taking the over/under in football betting in Vietnam be liable to criminal prosecution?
Under Article 321 of the 2015 Criminal Code amended by Clause 120, Article 1 of the Law Amending the 2017 Criminal Code on gambling as follows:
Illegal gambling
1. A person who illegally gambles in any shape or form with the stakes (in cash or kind) assessed at from VND 5,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000, or under VND 5,000,000 despite the fact that he/she has incurred an administrative penalty for the same offence or any of the offences specified in Article 322 hereof or has an unspent conviction for the same offence or any of the offences specified in Article 322 hereof shall be liable to a fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 100,000,000, face a penalty of up to 03 year's community sentence or 06 - 36 months' imprisonment.
2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 03 - 07 years' imprisonment:
a) The offence is committed in a professional manner;
b) The stake is assessed at VND ≥ 50,000,000;
c) The offence is committed using the Internet, a computer network, telecommunications network or electronic device;
d) Dangerous recidivism.
3. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 50,000,000."
Accordingly, a person taking the over/under in football betting in whatever winning form for earnings in cash or kind without permission of a competent state agency or with permission of a competent state agency but at variance with the granted license may be liable to criminal prosecution in case of taking the over/under in football betting in any shape or form with the stakes (in cash or kind) assessed at from VND 5,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000, or VND 5,000,000 even though he/she has incurred an administrative penalty for the same offense or organizing gambling or running gambling-dens or has an unspent conviction for the same offense or organizing gambling or running gambling-dens.
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