HANOI, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese police have detected an online gambling ring with money amounting to over 30 trillion Vietnamese dong (about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars) and hundreds of thousands of accounts, Vietnam News Agency reported on Monday.

The Investigation Police Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security on Sunday commenced legal proceedings against 23 Vietnamese people and one foreigner for organizing gambling or gambling online through a website with its servers placed outside Vietnam.

The 24 suspects live in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the two central provinces of Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen, and four southern provinces of Dong Nai, Long An, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau.

At present, all forms of gambling, including sport betting, except in government licensed casinos, are illegal in Vietnam. Anyone found to be in violation of the law is subject to heavy fines and/or a severe prison sentence.