Vietnam's Ministry of Finance reported to the country's Politburo in August 2023 on the results of the pilot scheme allowing Vietnamese locals to gamble at Corona Resort & Casino on Phu Quoc island, according to an account by the official Vietnam News Agency1. The ministry said it was "in the process of soliciting directives from the Politburo" on the topic1.
Corona Resort & Casino is Vietnam's first and so far only tourism complex with a casino permitted to serve economically-qualified locals1. Its 2023 gaming revenue rose 45.7 percent year-on-year to nearly VND2.2 trillion (US$89.0 million), and it contributed VND1.23 trillion to the national government's budget1. Revenue the report termed "ticket revenue" from Vietnamese people attending the property exceeded VND32 billion in 2023 and amounted to VND242 billion from 2019 to 20231.
The report covered player numbers from 2019, when the property was first permitted to cater to local players under the pilot scheme, to the end of 20231:
| Group | Number | Share of total players |
|---|---|---|
| Vietnamese visitors | 295,943 | 62 percent |
| Foreign visitors | 179,507 | 38 percent |
The report said the proportion of Vietnamese visitors was higher in 2020 and 2021 because the Covid-19 pandemic curtailed foreign tourism to Vietnam1. In 2023, Vietnamese players were said to be 39 percent of total visitors1.
Separately, local news outlet VietNamNet Global indirectly cited Ho Duc Phoc, Vietnam's Minister of Finance, on the likely direction of the pilot scheme1. The outlet stated that the ministry "doesn't have a plan to allow Vietnamese to go to casinos on a large scale and other casinos will not be licensed to admit Vietnamese in the immediate time"1.
"doesn't have a plan to allow Vietnamese to go to casinos on a large scale and other casinos will not be licensed to admit Vietnamese in the immediate time"
In October 2022 it was reported that the Kien Giang provincial government covering Phu Quoc had asked the Ministry of Finance to extend by three years, to January 7, 2025, Corona Resort & Casino's right to serve locals under the pilot scheme1.
What it means for players
For Vietnamese locals, access to casino gambling remains limited to the single pilot property on Phu Quoc, and only for those who meet the scheme's economic qualification criteria1. The ministry's reported position is that it has no plan to allow Vietnamese to go to casinos on a large scale, and that other casinos will not be licensed to admit Vietnamese in the immediate time1. No decision on the pilot's future had been announced at the time of the report; the ministry was still seeking directives from the Politburo1.
For foreign visitors, the pilot's rules do not restrict entry to Corona Resort & Casino, and foreign visitors made up 179,507 of the players recorded from 2019 to the end of 20231. How gambling is regulated for visitors elsewhere in the country is set out in our guide to gambling in Vietnam, and the bodies that issue and oversee licenses are covered in our page on gambling regulators and licenses in Asia.
What happens next
The Ministry of Finance was soliciting directives from the Politburo on the pilot scheme, and no outcome had been reported1. A request from the Kien Giang provincial government to extend Corona Resort & Casino's right to serve locals to January 7, 2025 had been reported in October 2022; whether that extension was granted has not been reported1.
