Gaming decree to be approved by Christmas or early 2017

Tuesday 13th of December 2016

The Prime Minister of Vietnam is expected to approve the new gaming decree this Christmas or early in the year, according to an expert in the industry.

“Vietnam, after years of wringing its hands whether to open up the gaming industry, has finally reached important decisions and allowed international investors to come in one of the last fertile gaming lands in Asia,” said Professor Augustine Vinh, chairman and CEO of Stellar Management.

The country opened its first gaming lounge in 1994, in Do Son. Vietnam has today seen more than 40 electronic gaming lounges in five-star hotels around the country and 7 small casinos with live dealers, most of them at the Vietnam-China borders, said Vinh.

“In the past few years, four integrated resorts have been granted investment certificates and the first gaming license has been issued to the Grand Ho Tram resort in South Vietnam. As soon as the other three IR’s (Van Don in the North, South Hoi An in the Central, and Phu Quoc in the South) reach the required $1 billion disbursement in investment, they will also get their gaming licenses.”

According to Vinh, earlier this month, the PM and his Cabinet approved another integrated resort in the well-known Cam Ranh Bay in central Vietnam.

It is also understood that Hue, in Central Vietnam is on the radar for another IR.

By 2018, the country will see a total of 6 integrated resorts, 50 hotel electronic gaming lounges, and 7 small casinos for foreign tourists, and gaming rooms at departure level of the country’s 7 international airports, said Vinh.

In addition, a new sports betting decree is expected to come out sometime in the first half of 2017.

“The light is at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

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