What are penalties for lottery gambling in Vietnam? What are judgments on gambling and organizing gambling activities in the form of lottery gambling in Vietnam?

1. What are penalties for lottery gambling in Vietnam?

Lottery gambling is a form of gambling based on the lottery results. Essentially, lottery gambling is a gambling game involving placing bets with a bookmaker based on daily lottery results from various provinces.

Depending on the severity of the offense, based on the amount involved, the nature of the organization, and its scale, those gambling may be subject to administrative penalties or, in more serious cases, criminal prosecution.

(1) Administrative Penalties

Article 28 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP provides for penalties for administrative violations related to illegal gambling as follows:

- A fine ranging from 200,000 VND to 500,000 VND for the act of purchasing lottery gambling.

- A fine ranging from 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND for the act of selling lottery gambling, books of lottery results, and other publications related to lottery gambling or for passing them on to others for commission.

- A fine ranging from 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND for organizing lottery gambling through the following acts:

+ Being the owner of the lottery gambling;
+ Organizing the production and distribution of books of lottery results and other publications for lottery gambling;

+ Organizing networks for lottery gambling.

Additionally, individuals involved in lottery gambling may be required to forfeit illegal profits and have gambling materials confiscated when subject to administrative penalties.

(2) Criminal Prosecution

Based on Article 321 of the Criminal Code 2015 (amended by the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code 2017), offenders may be prosecuted for gambling with the following penalties:

- Any person who illegally gambles in any form where the winnings are valued between 5 million VND to under 50 million VND or under 5 million VND but has been administratively penalized for this act or acts as prescribed in Article 322 of the Criminal Code 2015 or has been convicted of this offense or offenses as prescribed in Article 322, has not yet had the conviction expunged, and continues to violate, shall be fined from 20 million VND to 100 million VND, subjected to community sentence for up to 3 years or sentenced to imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years.

- In cases where the offense falls under the following circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 3 years to 7 years:

+ Professional nature;

+ Money or items used for gambling value 50,000,000 VND or more;

+ Using the internet, computers, telecommunications networks, or electronic devices to commit the offense;

+ Dangerous recidivism.

In addition, offenders may be subjected to a fine ranging from 10 million VND to 50 million VND.

2. What are judgments on gambling and organizing gambling activities in the form of lottery gambling in Vietnam?

Below is a compilation of judgments related to gambling/organizing gambling in the form of lottery gambling:

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