Casino ID Requirements in Asia

Why casinos in Asia check ID before entry

Walk up to a casino anywhere in Asia and someone will look at a document before you get near a table. There are several reasons for this, and they stack on top of each other.

The first is age. Every jurisdiction sets a minimum age for the gaming floor, and the only practical way to enforce it is to check every person who walks in. The second is nationality. In several markets the rules for locals and visitors are completely different, so the door staff need to know which group you belong to before they can decide what applies to you. In South Korea, for example, the law requires casino operators to verify the identity of everyone entering the premises and to bar designated persons, and the national police guidance for foreigner-only casinos calls for strengthened nationality screening and careful management of customer data¹¹.

The third reason is exclusion. Casinos keep lists of people who are not allowed in, whether because of self-exclusion requests, family requests or government orders, and identity checks are how those lists are enforced. Japan's casino rules require operators to restrict a visitor's use of the facility on the request of the visitor or of family members, which only works if the operator knows who is walking in¹³.

Finally, there is money. Where locals pay an entry levy, as in Singapore, the casino cannot know who to charge until it has established who you are⁶. Thailand's draft casino rules go further and envision identity verification through facial recognition and through the ThaID application or an identity provider for checks done remotely⁷.

The result is that ID checks in Asian casinos are systematic, not random. In French territories in the region, the rule is stated bluntly: access to gaming rooms is subject to systematic identity control to identify and refuse minors and banned persons, and anyone inside must be able to prove identity on pain of expulsion¹⁴. Expect the same spirit everywhere else.

Minimum age: 21 in most markets, 20 under Thailand's draft bill

The most common minimum age for casino entry in Asia is 21, but it is not universal, so it pays to check before you travel with a 19 or 20 year old in your group.

If you want the full picture across all games, not just casinos, see our page on the legal gambling age in Asia.

Passport rules: original documents, not photocopies

The single most common mistake visitors make is showing up with a photocopy of a passport, or a photo of it on a phone. Casinos want the original, and a member of staff will usually want to hold it briefly and compare the face.

For foreign visitors, the passport is the standard document almost everywhere. Thailand's rules require foreigners to present a passport or a document of the foreign country equivalent to a passport⁷. In South Korea, Paradise Casino Walkerhill states that because it is a foreigners-only casino, you must carry your passport so that age and nationality can be checked at entry⁵.

The Philippines takes registration a step further. Under the PAGCOR regulatory framework, a prospective player must show one valid government-issued ID card containing a photograph, full name and date of birth, and the operator records personal information including place of birth, nationality, addresses, contact details, ID type and number, nature of work and source of income, plus a latest photo¹⁸. The same principle applies to electronic gaming devices and poker rooms: a government-issued identification with a photograph showing name, address and date of birth is required before you can obtain a player card or play¹⁹.

In Vietnam, the operator guidance for Corona Resort & Casino is explicit about originals: an original valid ID card, a valid passport where accepted, financial proof documents, an entry ticket or purchase confirmation, plus anything else the casino requires⁹. A photocopy will not satisfy that list.

Japan is the one market with a distinctive local twist: entrants must present their My Number card and verify identity on each entry and exit of the casino gaming area²¹. This applies to residents of Japan and foreign residents alike, so a foreigner living in Japan should expect to use the My Number card rather than a passport.

Resident or visitor: which rules apply to you

In much of Asia, the door staff are not just checking that you are old enough. They are deciding which rulebook applies to you, and the answer differs sharply depending on your status.

South Korea is the clearest case. Most of the country's casinos are foreigner-only, and Korean nationals are barred from them. Paradise Casino Paradise City in Incheon states plainly that it is a casino for foreign nationals and holders of overseas permanent residency only, with Korean nationals prohibited from entering²². Majesta Jeju on Jeju Island is likewise a foreigners-only casino²³. Kangwon Land is the famous exception that admits Koreans, but the foreigner-only houses rely on the passport check at the door to enforce the split.

Vietnam runs a two-track system. Foreign visitors and overseas Vietnamese need a valid passport or international travel document, lawful entry into Vietnam, and must not be barred from casinos. Vietnamese citizens face the full set of local rules: the age and capacity requirement, the income test, and the entry ticket⁹. Foreign visitors are not in the group that must buy the VND 1 million per 24 hours or VND 25 million per month ticket described in operator guidance⁹.

Singapore divides players by citizenship and permanent residency for levy purposes only. A casino operator must not allow any Singapore citizen or permanent resident to enter or remain on casino premises unless the person has paid the entry levy; visitors pay nothing⁶.

Japan divides by residence rather than nationality for the entry check itself: everyone, resident or not, verifies identity on the way in and out, but residents do it with the My Number card²¹.

For a broader look at which countries bar their own citizens from casinos, see casino access for citizens across Asia.

Entry levy: SGD 150 a day for Singapore citizens and permanent residents

Singapore's entry levy is the best-known door charge in the region, and it applies to one group only: Singapore citizens and permanent residents. The Gambling Regulatory Authority states it simply: any Singapore citizen or permanent resident who wishes to enter the casino is required to pay an entry levy⁸.

The rates come from section 116 of the Casino Control Act: SGD 150 for every consecutive period of 24 hours, or SGD 3,000 for a valid annual membership of the casino⁶. The daily rate was raised from SGD 100 by the 2024 amendment, which replaced the old figure with SGD 150²⁴. The levy is deliberately steep, and it is not a cover charge that comes back in chips: it is a pure payment for entry.

There is a practical sting for locals who try to slip in without paying. A citizen or permanent resident who attempts to enter casino premises without paying the entry levy commits an offense carrying a fine of up to SGD 1,000¹⁰. That is several times the cost of just paying the levy.

Vietnam has its own version, charged to Vietnamese nationals only. At the Phu Quoc pilot casinos, Vietnamese citizens pay VND 1,000,000 for 24-hour entry or VND 25,000,000 for a 30-day pass, and must also show verified monthly income of at least VND 10 million²⁵. Foreign visitors are exempt⁹.

Thailand's draft framework goes the other way and charges the visitor: it sets an entry fee of 5,000 baht for a foreigner aged 20 or over entering a casino, per entry⁴. A draft decree reported in August 2025 also proposes that all players, Vietnamese and foreign, would be issued electronic ID cards containing personal details, access permissions and expiry dates, which would fold the ticketing and identity systems into one card²⁶.

For a full comparison of door fees across the region, see our page on casino entry levies in Asia.

Income and eligibility tests for local players in Vietnam

Vietnam is the only market in Asia that asks local players to prove they can afford to gamble before letting them in, and the test is specific.

A Vietnamese citizen who wants to play at a licensed casino must be 21 or older with full civil act capacity, and must prove a regular income of VND 10 million per month or more, or be subject to personal income tax from bracket 3 or higher under the Personal Income Tax Law¹. The income proof option is spelled out in the decree: documents showing income taxable at level 3 or higher within one year before playing²⁷. In plain terms, you bring tax records or income documentation, not just your ID card.

Players must also carry the documents proving they fall within the permitted categories, alongside the usual duties: following game and house rules, meeting tax obligations, not using game results to bet directly with each other, and not causing insecurity or disorder⁹.

There is a family dimension too. Under the operator guidance, a relative with authority, including parents, adoptive parents, a spouse or children, may submit a valid request to the casino to bar a person from playing⁹. So a Vietnamese player's eligibility can be undone not only by their own documents but by a family request on file.

Since the rules opened up in late November 2025, licensed casino locations may admit Vietnamese players who meet these conditions²⁸. In practice, the burden of proof sits with the player: no income documents, no entry, whatever your ID says.

What happens if you are under age or cannot show ID

The consequences of failing a door check are consistent across the region: you do not get in, and in a few places you can face a fine on top.

If you are under the minimum age, entry is simply refused. Japan's rules ban persons under 20 from entering or staying in casino facilities³. Thailand's draft rules allow an operator to refuse an unaccompanied person under 20 and to set a minimum age of at least 20 for unaccompanied entry⁴. In Macau, persons under 21 are not allowed to enter².

If you cannot show ID, the outcome depends on the market. In Macau, under the framework considered in 2015, concessionaire staff monitoring entry may require proof of age and bar entry to those who refuse to show it, but they may not demand identity documents³⁰. That is a narrower power than most casinos exercise in practice, but it captures the logic: the door check is about age and status, not a general police-style document demand.

The serious trouble starts with deception. In Singapore, a minor who uses false evidence of age to obtain entry commits an offense punishable with a fine of up to SGD 10,000²⁵. And as noted above, a citizen or permanent resident who tries to enter without paying the levy faces a fine of up to SGD 1,000¹⁰. Showing a document that is not yours, or lying about your age, turns a routine refusal into a legal problem.

For most people, though, the realistic worst case is embarrassment: a polite refusal at the door and a walk back to the hotel to fetch the right document.

Rules beyond ID: photography, dress code and payment limits

Once you are through the door, a few other rules shape your visit, and they vary less by law than by house policy.

Photography. Casinos across the region prohibit photography and filming on the gaming floor. This is enforced by floor staff rather than written into statutes, but treat it as universal. If you want a photo, do it in the lobby or ask first.

Payments and chips. How you buy chips depends on where you are. In Vietnam, players may exchange only VND for chips, and any winnings or leftover chips are converted back into VND⁹. Japan's rules contain a specific provision for visitors: an operator may issue chips against a credit card payment presented by a customer who is a foreigner without residence in Japan³¹. So a foreign tourist in a Japanese casino can put chips on a credit card in a way a local resident cannot.

Account registration. In Vietnam, if you register a player account, the know-your-customer rules require your full name, your ID card or passport number with date of issue and issuer, the administrative area of ticket purchase, and an account at a non-cash payment or payment intermediary service provider³². The paper trail is part of the system.

Self-exclusion. Japan requires operators to have measures to restrict a visitor's use of the casino facility on request of the visitor or of family members or other related persons¹³. In Canada's British Columbia, the Game Break self-exclusion program requires a government-issued photo ID for enrollment, in person or virtual, which shows how these programs work in practice: exclusion only functions on top of identity checks³³.

What to expect on your first visit

Here is the sequence at a typical casino door in the region, so nothing surprises you.

1. Have your document ready. Original passport for visitors; local ID or My Number card for residents; income documents too if you are a Vietnamese citizen.
2. Expect a face-to-document comparison. Staff will look at you, look at the photo, and may record details. In the Philippines, registration captures nationality, address, occupation and source of income¹⁸.
3. Pay any charge that applies to your group. SGD 150 for the day if you are a Singapore citizen or permanent resident; VND 1,000,000 for 24-hour entry or VND 25,000,000 for a 30-day pass if you are a Vietnamese citizen at the Phu Quoc pilot casinos; 5,000 baht per entry for a foreigner under Thailand's draft framework⁶.
4. Follow the floor rules. No photography, no phone filming, and house dress codes, which at most large Asian resorts mean smart casual at minimum.
5. Buy chips at the cage or a table. Cash works everywhere; in Vietnam, chips can be bought only with VND⁹.

If you are excluded or want to be, see our page on casino exclusion orders and self-exclusion in Asia.

Where casinos are not open yet

Two of the markets in this page do not yet have casinos you can walk into, which changes what the ID rules mean in practice.

Japan does not yet have any open casino: the integrated resorts planned there are still in development, so for now the region's operating casinos are found elsewhere, such as Singapore's two licensed operators, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa³. Travelers hoping to play in a licensed Asian casino today can look to Singapore, Macau's 24/7 casino floors, or Vietnam's licensed venues, most of which are foreigner-only.

Thailand has a draft framework rather than open casinos. The rules described above, the passport requirement for foreigners, the 20-year age line, the 5,000 baht entry fee and the facial recognition checks, are part of that draft and would take effect with the first licensed venues⁴. Nothing is operating yet, so there is no door to bring a passport to.

Everywhere else covered here, Macau, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines, has licensed casinos running now, and the ID checks described are daily practice. For the wider picture of which jurisdictions allow what, see gambling laws in Asia.