Vietnam allows locals to enter two casinos - exclusive

2016-10-31

Reading time 2:05 min

Only a month ago, Professor Augustine Ha Ton Vinh was telling Yogonet in an exclusive talk that he was confident the government of Vietnam would soon allow locals to enter casinos in the so called “Green jewel” of South East Asia. An interesting update now seems to be confirming the news as Yogonet has heard about a key decision the Politburo of the Communist Party might have made in that direction.

Prof. Vinh is it true that the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam has made some sort of decision to allow local Vietnamese to enter integrated resorts there?

From what I know, the country top leaders have recently decided to allow Vietnamese to enter two designated integrated resorts, one on the Van Don Island, Ha Long Bay, in the North and the other on Phu Quoc Island in the South. The trial period for the Van Don and Phu Quoc IR’s will be for a period of 3 years. In addition to the four IR’s already approved, Van Don, South Hoi An, Ho Tram, and Phu Quoc, the Politburo has indicated it will consider adding two more, in Hue and Cam Ranh Bay, both in Central Vietnam.

The Politburo also expressed its willingness to allow smaller casinos to expand its operations provided that they meet financial investment requirements and help boost local economies and tourism.

When should we expect to see the gaming decree?

The latest draft copy of the gaming decree was revised by the Ministry of Finance to reflect the Politburo’s decisions.
In addition, the draft deals with a number of important issues, including:

Local Vietnamese, above 21 years of age, with no criminal records, proof of monthly salary of about US$500, and no objection from immediate family members, will be allowed to come into casinos. Two designated areas: Van Don in the North and Phu Quoc in the South will be allowed to accept Vietnamese on a 3-year trial basis.
There will be only two types of gaming licenses for integrated resorts with large casinos with a total investment of more than US$2 billion and smaller casinos under US$2 billion.
The total investment for an integrated resort must be a minimum of US$2 billion. A 20-year gaming license will be granted after US$1 billion is disbursed. A one-time extension of 10 years will also be granted.
For each US$ 10 million in investment, casinos can have one gaming table and 10 electronic gaming or slot machines.
Casino entrance fee for local Vietnamese is about US$50 each time and monthly pass will cost around US$1100.

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I expect this draft decree to be finalized and released anytime soon, now that the Politburo has expressed its will and the way forward is clear

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I believe Vietnam will see a new and booming gaming industry which will significantly help boost foreign direct investment, improve local and regional tourism, stem outflows of capital, develop new skilled labor, etc. I am confident the Ministry of Finance will get its final draft decree approved and will soon release it, possibly in the next few months.