Casinos waiting for implementation guidelines

Sunday 26th of March 2017

While Vietnamese citizens are allowed to gamble in local casinos under a new three-year pilot scheme, local residents have yet to set foot into any gaming venue due to lack of guidance, Vietnamese daily Lao Dong reports.

Pham Ngoc Nam, deputy general director of Royal International Corp – owner of a five-star hotel complex with a casino in Halong City, said he has been waiting for a guiding circular on the implementation of the new gaming decree, as the requirements for casino entry are unclear.

In total, seven businesses have been licensed to operate casinos in Vietnam, but none have permitted locals to gamble yet due to lack of guidance.

He said other casinos in Quang Ninh Province are also in “wait and see” mode.

The latest decree stipulates that gamblers must prove their monthly income of at least VND10 million (around US$439) in order to be permitted inside casinos.

Last month, Nguyen Hoang Hai, deputy chair of the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI) said that some players may find it difficult to prove their income.

“There would be no problem for employees to prove their income, but it would be difficult for businessmen and freelancers to do this,” said Hai.

The deputy chairman also added at the time that it was unclear what documents people would have to show.

“Many casino goers are self-employed and wealthy but unwilling to apply for income certificates,” explained Pham.

One representative of the Ministry of Finance said the Department of Banking and Financial Institutions said the draft guidelines for the implementation of the decree on casino business is being finalized, but did not comment when it would come out.

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