The State Bank of Vietnam is seeking public comments on a draft circular guiding foreign exchange management for the prize-winning electronic game business for foreigners, the government's portal reported on March 2, 20221.
"Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam đang lấy ý kiến góp ý của nhân dân với dự thảo Thông tư hướng dẫn về quản lý ngoại hối đối với hoạt động kinh doanh trò chơi điện tử có thưởng dành cho người nước ngoài."
The draft sets out how winnings are received and used in foreign currency. Players may receive prize money in cash foreign currency or by bank transfer. A player who takes cash winnings may sell it to a licensed bank for Vietnamese dong, deposit it into their own foreign currency payment account, or carry or transfer it abroad through a licensed bank. Where winnings are paid by transfer, the amount moves from the business's dedicated foreign currency account to the player's account1.
The draft also covers currency exchange and the business's foreign exchange receipts and payments. Businesses convert Vietnamese dong or foreign currencies into the conventional currency used for play, and back again, at the rate quoted by the licensed bank where the business holds its dedicated foreign currency account. Receipts include cash foreign currency from the sale of the conventional currency and from prize-winning electronic game machines that accept cash foreign currency directly, plus transfers from players' accounts. Payments cover cash or transfers to players' accounts for winnings, or refunds where a player does not use all of the conventional currency bought1.
On accounts and cash holdings, a licensed business must open one dedicated account per foreign currency at one licensed bank, which the report says is meant to help supervision and limit illegal money transfers. The draft also sets out what may be received into and paid out of that account. Businesses set their daily cash float based on how much cash is needed to pay winnings and refund unused conventional currency. Cash above the float must be deposited into the business's dedicated foreign currency account at a licensed bank on the next working day, a measure the report links to safety, concentrating foreign currency in the banking system and preventing money laundering1.
What it means for players
The draft concerns prize-winning electronic games for foreign players, the venues covered in our guide to slot machines and electronic gaming clubs in Vietnam. For foreign passport holders, it addresses the practical side of winning: whether a payout arrives in cash or by transfer, and what can then be done with it, including selling it for dong, keeping it in a foreign currency account or sending it abroad through a licensed bank. It also sets the exchange rate basis for converting between dong, foreign currencies and the conventional currency used in the machines. The rules are a draft, so the current treatment of winnings at these venues is unchanged for now. General background on who may gamble is in our guide to whether foreigners can gamble in Vietnam.
What happens next
The consultation is open, and the full draft text is published for comment. The report does not state a closing date for submissions, when the circular would take effect, or whether the draft has since been revised or adopted.
