Government resolution lets Vietnamese citizens enter casinos at Phú Quốc, Hồ Tràm and Vân Đồn

Vietnam's government issued Resolution No. 08/2025/NQ-CP on November 26, 2025, allowing eligible Vietnamese citizens to enter casinos at several casino business projects, according to the government portal¹. The resolution took effect the same day².

Under the resolution, eligible Vietnamese citizens may enter the casino at the Phú Quốc casino project in An Giang Province from November 26, 2025². Hồ Tràm, in Ho Chi Minh City, is a five-year pilot from the same date, and Vân Đồn, in Quảng Ninh Province, is a five-year pilot from the date a certificate of eligibility for casino business operations is issued².

The resolution states that management of eligible Vietnamese citizens entering casinos, and the business and supervision of casino activities at these projects, must follow Decree No. 03/2017/NĐ-CP on casino business operations or any amended, supplemented or replaced documents². At the end of the pilot period, the Hồ Tràm and Vân Đồn projects must stop allowing eligible Vietnamese citizens to enter casinos until a competent authority issues conclusions in line with the law on casino business operations².

The rules for who may enter come from Decree No. 03/2017/NĐ-CP, as set out by legal publisher Thư Viện Pháp Luật³ and cited by Lao Động⁵:

Ticket revenue is left to the locality where the casino operates, for social welfare, community service and public security purposes under Ministry of Finance guidance⁵. Casino operators are responsible for organizing business and managing eligible Vietnamese entrants strictly and lawfully².

The resolution follows a 2016 Politburo pilot allowing Vietnamese citizens into casinos at Phú Quốc and Vân Đồn for three years². Only the Phú Quốc casino was operating, from January 2019, and under Decree No. 03/2017/NĐ-CP the pilot was to run until January 2022². In 2022 the Ministry of Finance proposed a two-year extension at Phú Quốc to the end of 2024, citing COVID-19 effects on casino business². In May 2024 the Politburo agreed to extend the Phú Quốc pilot to the end of 2024, and the government issued Decree No. 145/2024/NĐ-CP amending the pilot duration rules².

What it means for players

Vietnamese citizens who meet the conditions can now enter the casino at Phú Quốc, and can enter Hồ Tràm during its five-year pilot². Vân Đồn's five-year clock starts only when it receives a certificate of eligibility for casino business operations, so entry there depends on a date not yet reported². Entry is not open to all Vietnamese citizens: the age, income, ticket and family-objection conditions above apply³. Foreign visitors and Vietnamese living abroad are covered by separate rules in Decree No. 03/2017/NĐ-CP, which the resolution does not change². Whether the Hồ Tràm and Vân Đồn pilots continue after five years has not been decided; the resolution says entry stops at the end of the pilot until a competent authority concludes².

What happens next

The Hồ Tràm pilot runs five years from November 26, 2025, and the Vân Đồn pilot five years from the date its certificate of eligibility for casino business operations is issued². At the end of either pilot, the project must stop admitting eligible Vietnamese citizens until a competent authority issues conclusions under the law on casino business operations². No date has been reported for the Vân Đồn certificate or for any decision on what follows the pilots.