Legislation
Vietnam – Vietnam considers allowing locals to gamble
By Phil - 19 August 2013
The Vietnamese government is considering allowing its own citizens to gamble as it looks to stop money being spent in casinos at bordering Cambodia.
However, rather than just let Vietnamese gamble at all casinos, such as the recently opened The Grand on Ho Strip, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Finance and Budget Phung Quoc Hien said that a pilot basis should be introduced at one venue; at the casino in the Van Don Special Economic Zone in the Van Don Economic Zone in northern Quang Ninh Province. It is located next to Vietnam’s popular tourist destination Halong Bay.
Only foreigners and overseas Vietnamese that hold a valid passport granted by a competent foreign agency and have entered Vietnam legally are allowed to gamble.
A law coming in October 1 will increase the fines for an operator allowing Vietnamese citizens to gamble to VND200m ($9,500) and to VND100m for the individual.
Media reports state that 3,000 Vietnamese from Mekong Delta provinces of Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Long An and Tay Ninh in the south are crossing the Vietnamese-Cambodia border each day to play in more than 30 casinos.
NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung was in favour of the pilot. He said: “The draft decree should include concrete criteria for Vietnamese to be eligible to gamble at casinos. It should also have regulations on how to control those gamblers. There should be a legal foundation for allowing Vietnamese to gamble at casinos. The Politburo has met to discuss this issue. I agreed with allowing Vietnamese to gamble at casinos on a pilot basis, provided there is a legal foundation. A regulation allowing Vietnamese to gamble at the Van Don Specific Economic Zone on a pilot basis should be added to the draft decree.”
