The Ministry of Finance in Vietnam has proposed expanding an ongoing pilot programme that permits locals to gamble in selected casinos, seeking to add two more casinos and extend the trial period by a further two years.
The pilot was originally planned to run for three years from 2019, with two casinos designated for locals to gamble. However, only one of those, Corona Resort & Casino in Phu Quoc is currently operating with the other, located in the rural district of Van Don in Quang Ninh Province, still yet to open.
In view of the impact of Covid-19 on the initial trial, the Ministry wants to extend the pilot until 2024 and to add additional casinos located in Da Nang City and Khanh Hoa Province. These two locations are considered to be prime locations for aiding tourism recovery with VND16trn (US$695m) having already been poured into a resort project in Da Nang City and VND25.7trn (US$1.1bn) into a Khanh Hoa project owned by VinPearl and including a hotel, amusement park, golf course and convention centre.
Under the current pilot programme, entry is limited to Vietnamese citizens who are over 21 and able to show monthly income of at least VND10m (US$431). They must also pay an entry tax of VND1m per 24 hours.
