Vietnam cracks down on SEO-promoted gambling websites; media company boss and 17 others arrested
The police pointed out that Mạnh organized employees to improve the search engine rankings of relevant gambling websites by massively creating backlinks, publishing promotional articles and online content, etc; technically this method also involves unauthorized intrusion in genuine websites. The method is known as black hat SEO as well.
On June 2, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Hanoi City Public Security Bureau announced that the police have cracked down on a case of using search engine optimization (SEO) to provide illegal promotion services for online gambling websites. The suspects include the legal representative of a media company and multiple employees, with a total of 18 people being detained for criminal custody and another 15 being restricted from leaving the country for investigation.
According to the investigation, Phạm Ngọc Mạnh, 31, is the legal representative of "Siêu Thị Seo". The company has long been engaged in website search ranking optimization and traffic promotion services, but its main clients include a large number of unlicensed online gambling platforms.
The police pointed out that Mạnh organized employees to improve the search engine rankings of relevant gambling websites by massively creating backlinks, publishing promotional articles and online content, etc., in order to help them attract more visitors and obtain illegal profits.
To conceal the sources of funds and transaction paths, the company used the cryptocurrency USDT to collect fees and settled them through multiple e-wallet accounts. At the same time, some employees' salaries were paid in cash to evade financial supervision and tracking.
The investigating authorities found that from the beginning of 2026 to the time of the case, the company helped promote about 22 illegal Vietnamese-language gambling websites and illegally profited about 3.7 billion VND.
The police seized a large amount of evidence related to the case, including more than 7 billion VND in cash and cryptocurrency assets, a bank deposit book with 3 billion VND, and 29 computers and 41 mobile phones.
The police said that the case reflects that some Internet marketing activities have been exploited by illegal organizations and have become an important tool for the spread of online gambling. Relevant departments will continue to strengthen the supervision of SEO promotion, online advertising, and traffic service industries, and crack down on providing technical support and dissemination channels for illegal websites. At present, the 18 suspects are under further investigation for allegedly violating Article 288, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law, "Illegal Provision of Computer Network and Telecommunications Network Information".
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