The State Bank of Vietnam (NHNN) issued Circular 09/2022/TT-NHNN, which guides foreign exchange management for the business of prize-winning electronic games for foreigners, and it took effect on 1 September 20221. The circular was published in July 20221.
Under the circular, the denomination of the conventional currency (dong tien quy uoc) used in these games is recorded in Vietnamese dong or in one convertible foreign currency. Businesses convert the denomination into Vietnamese dong or other foreign currencies. The conversion rate is based on the rate listed on the transaction date by the licensed bank where the business holds its dedicated foreign currency account; if the transaction date is a weekend or holiday, the rate from the immediately preceding transaction date applies1.
Players may exchange conventional currency into foreign currency or Vietnamese dong when they do not play out the full amount or when they win in conventional currency at the business, and may use the foreign currency obtained from that exchange for transactions1.
For prize money received in cash foreign currency, players may sell the foreign currency to a licensed bank for Vietnamese dong; transfer the cash prize money abroad through a licensed bank; obtain confirmation from a licensed bank to carry the cash prize money abroad under regulations; or deposit the cash prize money into their own foreign currency payment account at a licensed bank1. For prize money received by transfer, the money may be moved from the business's dedicated foreign currency account to the player's foreign currency payment account at a licensed bank, or to the player's account opened abroad1. Players may authorize the business to contact the licensed bank to carry out deposits, transfers and applications for confirmation to carry cash foreign currency abroad1.
Businesses granted a license by the NHNN to collect and spend foreign currency and conduct other foreign exchange activities may collect cash foreign currency from the sale of conventional currency, collect cash foreign currency directly from prize-winning electronic game machines with that function, and receive transfers from a player's overseas account or foreign currency payment account at a licensed bank in Vietnam into the business's dedicated foreign currency account1. Collections, payments and other foreign exchange activities involving the currency of a country sharing a border with Vietnam follow the bilateral payment agreement between the NHNN and that country's central bank1.
"Thông tư này có hiệu lực từ ngày 01/9/2022"
What it means for players
The circular covers prize-winning electronic games for foreigners, the machine-based gaming venues that sit outside casinos. For foreign players at those venues, it sets out how winnings can leave the country: cash prizes can be sold for dong, transferred abroad through a licensed bank, carried out with bank confirmation, or deposited into a foreign currency account in Vietnam. Transferred prizes can go to an account in Vietnam or an account abroad. Players can also hand the paperwork to the venue, which may deal with the bank on their behalf. The rules apply to the conventional currency used inside these venues, whose value is set in dong or a convertible foreign currency at the licensed bank's listed rate. The circular does not set tax treatment, licensing conditions for the venues themselves, or the size of prizes, and those points are not addressed in the announcement of the circular1. For the wider legal position, see Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions and Can I Gamble in Vietnam?. The rules sit alongside the separate licensing regime for arcade prize games and gaming machines outside casinos, and the distinction between games of skill and games of chance remains relevant to how such machines are classified.
What happens next
The circular took effect on 1 September 20221. No further steps, transitional arrangements or later amendments are set out in the announcement1.
