Ministry of Finance proposes extending Vietnamese-player pilot until 2024

Vietnam's Ministry of Finance has proposed extending the pilot program that allows Vietnamese people to play in selected domestic casinos until 2024, according to a report submitted to the Prime Minister. The pilot period was originally set to run from 2019 to 2022, but the ministry cited the impact of the pandemic in seeking the extension¹.

The same report addressed casino management and draft alternatives to Decree 03/2017/NĐ-CP on casino businesses. The ministry recommended adding casino businesses in only two projects: the Bà Nà Hill tourist area invested by Sun Group and the Hòn Tre island project invested by Vinpearl JSC¹. Three localities had proposed new casino projects and to pilot allowing Vietnamese people to play¹:

The ministry reported that Sun Group has invested VNĐ16 trillion (US$695 million) in the Sun World Bà Nà Hill project, and that there has been no large-scale casino in Đà Nẵng city so far. Vinpearl JSC has invested VNĐ25.7 trillion in the Hòn Tre island complex, which includes a hotel, an amusement park, a golf course and a convention center¹. On Bình Thuận, the ministry said that although the locality had grown in tourism, the number of international visitors was not enough, and it noted that the Hồ Tràm casino project in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province, which is operating inefficiently, is located near Bình Thuận¹.

Currently two casinos on Phú Quốc Island and one casino on Vân Đồn Island are being piloted for Vietnamese people to play¹. The ministry reported 240,560 visitors to the Phú Quốc casino by the end of September last year, of which 35 percent were foreign and 65 percent Vietnamese. Revenue minus payment costs at the Phú Quốc casino is VNĐ3.2 trillion, and the casino has lost about VNĐ3.9 trillion¹.

Nguyễn Mại, Chairman of the Việt Nam Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises, told Người Lao Động newspaper that the proposals for casino investment needed to be considered carefully because the current casino business was not effective or even loss-making, and that it was not advisable to open more casinos when existing ones face difficulties¹. Lawyer Diệp Năng Bình of the HCM City Bar Association said issues of cash flow management and tax collection needed a strict inspection and supervision mechanism, and that caution should be exercised when licensing new casino projects in some localities¹.

What it means for players

The pilot is the only route by which Vietnamese citizens may legally gamble in domestic casinos, and it covers the two casinos on Phú Quốc Island and the casino on Vân Đồn Island¹. If the extension is granted, that access would continue past the original 2022 end date rather than lapse. The proposal is a ministry recommendation to the Prime Minister; the sources do not report that it has been approved, and no decision date is given. Foreign visitors and expats are not covered by the pilot's nationality restriction, but the sources do not set out entry conditions or which venues accept which passports. The ministry's own figures show the Phú Quốc casino operating at a loss, and both quoted commentators questioned further licensing, so the direction of policy beyond the extension has not been reported.

What happens next

The Ministry of Finance has submitted its report to the Prime Minister, including draft alternatives to Decree 03/2017/NĐ-CP¹. The sources do not report when the Prime Minister will respond, whether the extension will be granted, or what happens to the three proposed local projects. For background on the rules, see Can I Gamble in Vietnam?, Can I Play at Online Casinos in Vietnam?, Can I Bet on Sports in Vietnam?, New and Planned Casinos in Vietnam and Can I Play Poker in Vietnam?.