Vietnam: Shall persons palying cards for fun during Tet holidays face penalties?

04:06, 11/07/2024

After the hearty meals and lively conversations, Tet Holiday is also the time recreational activities are favorite; However, everyone should be aware that if friends or relatives invite you to play cards for fun during the Tet holiday, you must be cautious. According to Vietnamese law, this action could be classified as a criminal offense.

According to the guidance of the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam, illegal gambling is an act of gambling conducted in any form with the intent of winning or losing money or assets without the permission of the competent state authorities... Therefore, playing games like Ta la, Ba cay, To tom, Tam cuc... for winning in cash, even just a few tens of thousands of dong, is considered illegal gambling and violates the law.

Regarding penalties, according to legal regulations, if a gambler participates with an amount of less than 5 million dong, an administrative fine from 200,000 dong to 500,000 dong will be imposed according to Article 26, Decree 167/2013/ND-CP.

The fine for Illegally gambling with one of the forms such as xoc dia, ta la, to tom, tu lo kho, tam cuc, 3 cay, tu sac or other forms which are lost or won in cash or in kind... will range from 1 million dong to 2 million dong.

Illegal gambling

1. A caution or a fine of between VND 200,000 and 500,000 shall be imposed for buying illegal lottery number;

2. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the acts of gambling as follows:

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 or other forms which are lost or won in cash or in kind;

b) Gambling with machine or illegal electronic games;

c) Betting in cash or in other forms in sports competition, entertainment or other activities;

d) Selling illegal lottery sheet or printed matters used for playing illegal lottery;

Especially for gambling acts with amounts of 5 million dong or more, the gambler can be prosecuted for gambling. Anyone who has been administratively penalized or convicted for gambling-related acts or crimes and commits the offense again, with an amount under 5 million dong, still runs the risk of being criminally prosecuted.

Article 321 of the Criminal Code 2015, effective from July 1, 2016, and Clause 120 Article 1 of the Law on Amendments to Criminal Code 2017, effective January 1, 2018, stipulates as follows:

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.

Therefore, everyone should note that it's not as much fun. "Money wasted, illness gotten" at the beginning of the new year is not a good thing.

- Nguyen Trinh -

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE

0 lượt xem

- This translation is generated by OpenAI's GPT-4o model;
- The legal regulations in this article are according to Vietnamese Law;
- This English translation is for reference purposes only and not a definitive translation of the original Vietnamese texts;
- Articles may be compiled from a variety of sources;
- Applicable Terms may have expired at the time you are reading;
- If you have any questions about the copyright of the article, please contact us via email banquyen@lawnet.vn