Months of speculation end with Sports Minister announcement that it's game on!

Months of speculation on whether Vietnam will allow sportsbetting came to an end this week when the National Sports Committee, a powerful and influential body with a major say in government policy, announced through the Sports Minister that it will request government approval to establish a joint venture with an unidentified foreign bookmaker group to provide betting services on international soccer games.

Reuters reported that bets on foreign soccer matches will become legal next year in betting-crazy Vietnam, where a multi-million dollar gambling ring in a state agency led to the resignation of a cabinet minister in April.

The news agency said that the communist-run Southeast Asian country prohibits all forms of gambling, but illegal betting on soccer matches in England, Italy, Spain and other countries is very popular, with an estimated $1 billion transmitted illegally every year for soccer betting.