From the case of the golfers arrested in Vinh Phuc: Where and when can you play poker?

As reported, in the early morning of March 21, 2023, the Criminal Police Department coordinated with a number of professional units of the Ministry and Vinh Phuc Provincial Police to inspect the DIC STAR Hotel, Khai Quang Ward, Vinh Yen City, Vinh Phuc Province, and discovered and arrested red-handed Tran Anh Linh, born in 1976, currently Director of Tran Le Gia Company, and 21 other subjects for organizing gambling, gambling in the form of Poker.

The evidence seized by the police was more than 4.6 million chips (the subjects agreed to use the chips to exchange for Vietnamese currency, equivalent to more than 4.6 billion VND), along with many related documents.

Từ vụ nhóm golfer bị bắt ở Vĩnh Phúc: Được chơi poker ở đâu và khi nào? - 1 — (Illustration: gambling).

This is a group of subjects operating on a large scale, many subjects participating in the "slaughter" above are business owners, people with economic conditions, coming from many localities. Currently, the Criminal Police Department is temporarily detaining 22 subjects for investigation and strict handling according to the provisions of the law.

Given the above information, some readers wonder why these people were arrested since playing poker was licensed by the state?

Is poker legal in the state?

Discussing this issue, lawyer Tran Xuan Tien - Head of Dong Doi Law Office ( Hanoi Bar Association) said that poker is an intellectual sport originating from European countries and gradually developing in Asian countries. This type of sport was introduced to Vietnam spontaneously about 15 years ago.

Accordingly, on July 16, 2014, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Tien Dinh signed Decision No. 732/QD - BNV on allowing the establishment of the Vietnam Bridge & Poker Sports Association. This association is a member of the Vietnam Olympic Committee, under the management of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and is entitled to participate and be a member of international bridge and poker associations.

Poker in Vietnam is growing with the establishment of many clubs. However, poker is only licensed to operate in the form of tournaments with the purpose of creating a useful playground and leveling for athletes in Vietnam. Information about tournaments will be announced by clubs on the media.

In addition, the State also allows some subjects to play poker at Casinos that have been licensed by the competent authority in accordance with the provisions of law. Regarding this issue, the Government has issued Decree 03/2017/ND-CP to regulate Casino business activities, but the issue of allowing Vietnamese people to play is still only at the pilot stage.

Từ vụ nhóm golfer bị bắt ở Vĩnh Phúc: Được chơi poker ở đâu và khi nào? - 2 — Lawyer Tran Xuan Tien - Head of Dong Doi Law Office (Hanoi Bar Association).

Pursuant to Article 12 of Decree 03/2017/ND-CP on Casino business, regulations on piloting the entry of Vietnamese people to play at Casino business locations. Currently, only Phu Quoc Casino is piloting the entry of Vietnamese people to play, the pilot period is from 2019 to the end of 2022 according to Clause 2, Article 12 of Decree 03/2017/ND-CP. Accordingly, Vietnamese people who meet the conditions specified in Clause 3 of this Decree and are not prohibited in Clause 4 of this Decree will be allowed to play poker at the Casino.

Thus, lawyer Tien said, you can only play Poker in the form of a tournament, you cannot organize or participate in playing Poker in any form of "slaughter".

Currently, the pilot period for Vietnamese people to play at Phu Quoc Casino has ended, the Government has not yet decided whether to continue allowing Vietnamese people to play at casinos or to stop allowing Vietnamese people to play at casinos in Vietnam; in addition, the Ministry of Finance has proposed to extend the pilot period at Phu Quoc Casino until the end of 2024 but has not been approved. If approved, Vietnamese people can continue to play poker at Phu Quoc Casino if they meet the conditions specified in Article 12 of Decree 03/2017/ND-CP.

In fact, when poker was introduced to Vietnam, it had developed "disguised gambling" variations, so the State is still considering whether to officially regulate Vietnamese people to play at Casinos. Therefore, although the pilot period has ended, the Government has not yet made a decision on whether to continue allowing Vietnamese people to play at Casinos or not. Although the pilot period has brought many benefits to the management agency in grasping the parameters of the number of players, gender, region, level,...

On the other hand, regulations on the organization and operation of poker, especially clubs in localities, are not specific and clear, so the risk of "disguised gambling" is inevitable. It is worth mentioning that poker is also the form that many "casinos" take advantage of to organize disguised gambling.

Spontaneous poker games where you "win or lose" with chips and then exchange them for money are essentially gambling. According to current law, gambling and organizing gambling are strictly prohibited. Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, those who gamble and organize illegal gambling may be subject to administrative penalties or criminal prosecution.

According to Decree 144/2021/ND-CP , people who illegally gamble in the forms recorded in Point a, Clause 2, Article 28 of this Decree with the purpose of winning or losing money, property, or objects will be fined from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 , and may also be subject to additional penalties such as confiscation of evidence, means of committing the crime, or remedial measures such as returning the illegal amount of money obtained from the violation.

In addition, legal liability may also be imposed on those who engage in illegal gambling or organize illegal gambling. Specifically, offenders may be prosecuted for the crime of " Gambling " ( Article 321 of the Penal Code ) with a maximum penalty of up to 07 years or the crime of " Organizing gambling or gambling " (Article 322 of the Penal Code) , with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

In the case of only watching gambling, if there is sufficient evidence to prove that the person only watched and did not take on any role in gambling and did not fall under the acts specified in Article 28 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP , he/she will not be held legally responsible nor be punished in any form.

Therefore, the authorities need to soon issue legal documents to tighten the management of this sport and prevent disguised gambling. In the immediate future, the agencies managing sports clubs in localities need to strengthen management and licensing, contributing to preventing disguised violations of the law.

Regarding playing poker in casinos, the State can expand the pilot to study the formalization of allowing Vietnamese people to play in casinos with strict management procedures to promote the positive aspects and limit the negative aspects of this type.

In addition, functional agencies and local authorities need to strengthen propaganda and dissemination of legal regulations and legal consequences and penalties if there are violations, contributing to raising people's awareness of law compliance, and at the same time being resolute in detecting and punishing violations, creating legal deterrence.

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