Money and Currency for a Casino Trip in Asia

Why cash still matters at Asian casinos

Even as cards and apps take over daily life in Asia, the casino floor remains a cash-first place. The reason is simple: at a live table game, the only way to buy chips is to put banknotes on the felt. In craps, you place your cash on the table and let a crew member know you want chips, ideally while the dice are in front of the boxperson rather than mid-roll⁶. In Pai Gow Poker, the rule is spelled out even more plainly: money and chips are never exchanged directly between a dealer and a player, so the cash goes on the table and the chips come back the same way⁷. Nobody hands a card to a dealer.

Electronic games follow the same pattern. TAP 'N PLAY style machines are cash only, with an on-site ATM as the backup if you run short⁸. Some jurisdictions go further and ban cards at the casino entirely: in Mauritius, for example, no transaction may be carried out by credit card at a casino, with chips bought at the main cash desk using currency, a player card or a debit card⁹. Asia's big resorts are more flexible than that, but the pattern holds: cash is what the machines and tables actually want.

In Korea, slot machines at Kangwon Land accept all Korean won banknotes directly, along with the property's dedicated tickets⁵. So even at the most modern resorts, the practical sequence of a casino visit is: arrive with cash or withdraw it, change it into chips or feed it into a machine, and cash out before you leave. Everything else in this page is about making that sequence smooth.

Which currency each destination uses

The single most useful thing to know before a casino trip is which currency the floor actually runs on. Bringing the wrong one means an extra conversion, and every conversion costs you a little on the spread.

Macau: Hong Kong dollars. Macau's casinos are open 24 hours¹, and the gaming currency is the Hong Kong dollar, not the pataca and not the Chinese yuan. Exchange counters at the casinos, hotels and border crossings convert whatever you arrive with, but change your money to HKD before you sit down. If you are planning the journey itself, our pages on getting between Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai cover the ferries and the bridge.

Cambodia: US dollars. Cambodian casino floors, including NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, price games and issue chips in US dollars. The cashier accepts Visa, Mastercard and JCB cards², and the games on offer are the familiar international mix: blackjack, poker, roulette and slot machines¹⁰. Cambodian riel circulates in daily life, but you do not need it at the tables. The legal gambling age in Cambodia is 18¹¹.

Vietnam: dong and dollars. Most Vietnamese casinos accept US dollars, Vietnamese dong and major credit cards for chip purchase³. The official betting currency of Vietnam, for the purchase of betting tickets and the payment of prizes, is the Vietnamese dong¹². In practice, foreigners move between the two without friction at the cashier, while Vietnamese citizens face a dong-only rule covered below.

South Korea: Korean won. At Paradise City in Incheon, chips are bought at open tables or at the chip exchange in the casino center, credit cards and foreign currency go through the cashier, and the slot machines and electronic table games accept Korean won cash or the property's dedicated tickets¹³. Kangwon Land's machines likewise take won banknotes⁵.

Singapore: Singapore dollars. Singapore's casinos operate under detailed payment rules: chips may be bought with cash, with chips issued by another operator, with chip purchase vouchers, by credit card, by direct debit from a deposit or check cashing account, or through a credit account¹⁴. Using your own currency matters for fees, and a Visa debit card is used by many Singaporean players for all kinds of payments and purchases, including online casino deposits¹⁵.

Thailand: baht. Thailand's licensed casino framework charges foreigners an entry fee of 5,000 baht per visit¹⁶, and foreigners must present a passport or equivalent document to enter¹⁷. Baht is the working currency, and Thai players at offshore sites can deposit and withdraw in their native currency¹⁸.

A quick summary:

Vietnam's customs rule: declare foreign currency over USD 5,000

Vietnam has one cash rule every visitor should know before flying in with a bankroll: if you carry more than USD 5,000 in cash, you must declare it⁴. The limit applies on the way out as well as the way in, so if you win big and leave with more than USD 5,000 in foreign currency cash, you declare it at departure. Keep the form you filled in on arrival, because border officers may want to see it when you exit.

There are official channels for moving prize money out of the country. A player who receives a cash prize in foreign currency may sell that currency to a licensed bank for Vietnamese dong, transfer the cash abroad through a licensed bank, carry it abroad with the bank's confirmation, or deposit it into a foreign currency payment account at a licensed bank²⁰. Circular 09/2022/TT-NHNN of the State Bank, the issued rule on foreign exchange management for prize-winning electronic games for foreigners, confirms that players may receive prize payments in foreign currency, in cash or by bank transfer²⁰. In plain terms: take your winnings to a bank rather than stuffing a large sum in your luggage, and the paperwork exists to let you do it cleanly.

If you want the fuller picture on cash limits across the region, see how much cash you can carry into and out of Asian countries.

How casinos accept payment: cash, cards and chips

At a live table, the transaction is always the same: cash on the felt, chips back. The differences show up at the cashier's desk and at the machines.

At the cashier. Singapore's rules give the clearest official list of what a modern casino accepts for chips: cash, chips from another operator, chip purchase vouchers, credit cards, direct debit from a deposit or check cashing account, credit accounts, or any other mode the regulator approves¹⁴. In Vietnam, Corona Resort & Casino Phu Quoc accepts cash in dong or foreign currency within legal limits, bank transfers and international credit cards at its 24/7 service counter²¹. In Korea, credit cards and foreign currency go through the exchange booth or cashier rather than the table¹³.

At the machines. Slot machines and electronic games take cash directly, or take tickets printed by other machines. At Kangwon Land, you press the CASH OUT button when you finish and the remaining amount comes out as a dedicated ticket⁵. At Paradise City, slots and electronic table games accept Korean won or dedicated tickets, and unmanned exchange machines stand alongside the cashier¹³.

Cards abroad. Using a foreign card at a casino cashier can work, but check two things first: whether your card issuer treats the transaction as a cash advance, and what currency conversion applies. Singaporean players use Visa debit for all kinds of payments and purchases, including online casino deposits¹⁵; Indian players find Visa debit accepted across most casinos that target them²²; and South Korean players at offshore sites commonly use Visa Debit, Mastercard, bank transfers and cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and Dogecoin²³. Vietnamese players at offshore sites use credit cards, eWallets, bank transfers and services such as Payz and Help2Pay²⁴, and one major site accepts Vietnamese dong alongside more than twenty crypto assets²⁵.

The practical takeaway: bring some cash for the tables, keep a card for the cashier, and expect the machines to want banknotes or tickets.

ATMs and getting local currency on arrival

Every major casino resort has solved the arrival-money problem, because it wants you playing, not hunting for a bank.

At NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, ATMs from several banks sit inside the property: Canadia Bank, Cambodian Asia Bank, CIMB Bank, Maybank and ANZ². At Paradise Casino Jeju, ATM machines stand next to the exchange booths inside the casino²⁶. At Kangwon Land, dedicated tickets can be exchanged for cash at the ticket exchange booth and the machine ticket ATM inside the casino, or used directly in the machines⁵. At Paradise City, unmanned exchange machines and the cashier handle currency exchange¹³.

A sensible arrival routine looks like this:

1. Withdraw local currency at an ATM in the airport or at the resort. Airport rates are usually worse than the casino's own exchange counter, so withdraw only what you need for the first hours.
2. Change larger amounts at the casino's exchange booth, which handles foreign banknotes daily and posts its rates.
3. Keep your passport with you. Foreigner-only casinos in Korea require a passport for entry and do not admit Koreans²⁷, and Thailand requires foreigners to present a passport at the casino door¹⁷.
4. Break large notes into smaller ones at the cashier. Tables often have minimum bets that suit mid-size notes better than a fresh stack of hundreds.

If you are crossing a land border to reach the casino, the same routine applies on the other side; our page on crossing a land border to a casino covers the entry stamps and re-entry questions.

Changing money back: what to do with leftover chips and cash

The golden rule: chips have no value outside the property that issued them. Cash them out before you leave, every time.

Chips. Take unplayed chips to the cashier before you walk out. In Vietnam, the rules are explicit: unspent chips and winnings are exchanged back into local currency¹⁹. Singapore's legislation lists the ways a casino must redeem chips or chip purchase vouchers: in cash, by check issued by the operator, by telegraphic or electronic funds transfer, or by credit into the patron's deposit, check cashing or credit account¹⁴.

Slot tickets. In Korea, the process is button-driven. At Kangwon Land, press CASH OUT and the machine prints your remaining balance as a dedicated ticket, which you exchange for cash at the ticket exchange booth or machine ticket ATM⁵. At Paradise City, tickets are redeemed for won at redemption machines or the cashier, and remaining chips can be swapped for high-denomination chips on the way out¹³.

Foreign currency winnings in Vietnam. A player who receives a cash prize in foreign currency may sell it to a licensed bank for dong, deposit it into a foreign currency payment account, or carry or transfer it abroad through a licensed bank²⁸. The same options appear in the official decision on prize payments: sell the currency to a licensed bank, transfer it abroad, carry it abroad with the bank's confirmation, or deposit it into a foreign currency account²⁰.

Leftover banknotes. Small amounts of riel, dong or pataca are hard to convert once you are home, so spend them at the airport or change them before departure. Larger amounts of hard currency travel fine, but remember the USD 5,000 declaration threshold when leaving Vietnam⁴. Hong Kong dollars can be spent or changed back in Hong Kong without urgency.

A short checklist for departure day:

• Cash out all chips at the cashier, not at the table.
• Redeem any slot or machine tickets at the redemption machines or ticket ATM.
• Change small local notes into something spendable, or spend them.
• Keep winnings documentation if you plan to move a large sum through a bank.

Where the rules differ for locals and foreigners

In several Asian countries, the money rules at a casino depend on your passport, and the differences are worth knowing even as a visitor, because they explain why the cashier treats you differently from the person next to you.

Vietnam. Vietnamese citizens may only use Vietnamese dong to exchange for gaming chips, and may exchange chips back into dong if they are unspent or won as prizes¹⁹. The same rule appears in the draft decree on casino business: dong only, reconverted into dong if unused²⁹, and in Decree 03/2017/ND-CP itself²⁸. Foreigners are outside this system: they pay no entry fee at any casino³ and are not subject to the ticket that Vietnamese citizens must buy²¹. Citizens, meanwhile, must buy an entry ticket, currently VND 2,500,000 per 24 continuous hours or VND 50,000,000 per month²⁹, and must prove regular income of at least VND 10,000,000 per month or tax liability from bracket 3 or higher³⁰. The finance ministry has proposed raising the daily ticket to about USD 95 and the monthly ticket to about USD 1,906³¹. Only about nine casinos operate legally in Vietnam, most serving foreigners and overseas Vietnamese with valid passports³².

South Korea. The casino landscape is split by design. Legislation requires casino premises to be divided into members-only and general areas, with separate foreigner-only areas where needed to attract foreign visitors³³. Many casinos, including Hyatt Regency Jeju's casino, Paradise City and the Jeju KAL and Oriental hotel casinos, are for foreigners only, with passport required and Koreans not admitted²⁷. Foreigners and overseas migrants are exempt from the entry tax that Kangwon Land's Korean guests pay, with ID such as a passport or proof of permanent residence status checked for verification³⁴.

Thailand. Foreigners must present a passport to enter a casino and pay an entry levy¹⁷, set at 5,000 baht per entry for foreigners aged 20 and over¹⁶.

Cambodia. The age threshold is 18 for legal casino gambling¹¹, and the dollar-based floor serves locals and visitors alike.

For a broader look at how residency status changes access, see expats vs tourists: how residency status changes casino access in Asia, and for the general picture of gambling as a visitor, start with gambling as a visitor in Asia.