Ministry of Finance press conference on tax policy drafting

Vietnam's Ministry of Finance outlined draft tax policies on real estate, gold trading and casino operations at a press conference in Hà Nội on Friday, October 3, 2025, according to a report published the following day¹.

Lưu Đức Huy, Deputy Director of the Department of Tax, Fee and Charge Policy Management and Supervision, said the ministry is revising real estate taxation to align with the Land Law and the Law on Real Estate Business¹. A draft amendment to the Personal Income Tax Law, which includes provisions on property transfers, is scheduled to be tabled at the next National Assembly session¹. Huy said a proposal to tax property transactions based on holding periods was dropped after public consultation, and the ministry instead plans to keep current regulations¹.

On gold, Huy said the ministry is working with the State Bank of Vietnam to add bullion transactions to taxable income, and the draft Law on Personal Income Tax proposes a 0.1 percent tax rate on bullion transfers¹. Transactions of raw gold and jewelry would remain exempt¹. Vietnam currently imposes no personal income tax on bullion trading because individuals are prohibited from trading gold bars under existing regulations, with transactions limited to licensed banks and financial institutions¹.

On casinos and betting, Nguyễn Hoàng Dương, Deputy Director of the Department of Financial Institutions, said the ministry is reviewing Decree 03/2017/NĐ-CP on casino operations¹. Under the decree, only projects with a minimum investment of $2 billion are qualified for licenses¹. Dương said three large-scale casinos are operational, in Phú Quốc, Hồ Tràm and Nam Nội An, together with six smaller ones licensed before the decree came into force¹.

Dương said initial assessments of the pilot schemes showed positive impacts, including job creation, tourism and infrastructure development, and the ministry is evaluating the pilots for adjustments¹. Betting activities, including horse racing, dog racing and international football, are also under review¹. Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyễn Đức Chi said the casino and betting industries have been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and face pressure to adapt to digital transformation, requiring amendments to the regulations, and added that a separate law to regulate these industries may be put into consideration¹.

What it means for players

The casino review concerns the licensing rules that decide how many casinos can operate in Vietnam and under what conditions, not the rules players follow at the table. The three large casinos named are in Phú Quốc, Hồ Tràm and Nam Nội An, alongside six smaller venues licensed before the decree took effect¹. The pilot schemes that let Vietnamese citizens enter some large casinos remain in place while the ministry evaluates them; the report does not say which casinos are covered by the pilots or whether the terms will change¹. No change to entry rules for foreign passport holders was reported.

The gold proposal would introduce a 0.1 percent personal income tax on bullion transfers, while raw gold and jewelry transactions stay exempt¹. It is a draft, and the report does not state when it would take effect. For general background on how gambling winnings are taxed across the region, see Tax on Gambling Winnings in Asia: A Guide for Players, Visitors and Expats, and for the current licensing and entry picture see Can I Gamble in Vietnam?.

What happens next

The draft amendment to the Personal Income Tax Law, including the property transfer provisions, is scheduled to be tabled at the next National Assembly session¹. The report does not give a date for that session, nor a timetable for the casino decree review or the gold tax proposal. On digital assets, Hà Duy Tùng, Deputy Chairman of the State Securities Commission, said the ministry is drafting licensing regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges under a controlled pilot scheme, and that no company has yet applied though some have shown interest¹.