Illustrative photo by VNA

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Finance has reported on the casino business situation in Việt Nam, indicating that the pilot project allowing Vietnamese individuals to gamble is experiencing financial losses due to a decreasing number of players.

In the report sent to National Assembly (NA) deputies ahead of a question-and-answer session at the NA's Standing Committee on March 18, Minister of Finance Hồ Đức Phớc states that this type of activity is exclusively reserved for foreigners.

In 2016, the Politburo allowed a trial for Vietnamese people to gamble in casinos on Phú Quốc Island in the southern province of Kiên Giang and in Vân Đồn District in the northern province of Quảng Ninh for a period of three years.

Currently, only the casino project on Phú Quốc Island has been operational since January 2019.

After more than two years of trial, the ministry actively coordinated with ministries and sectors to report to the Prime Minister about the trial process since May 2021.

In August 2023, the ministry reported to the Politburo on the trial results. It is in the process of soliciting directives from the Politburo.

The report outlines that the accumulated revenue from 2019 to 2023 of this project reached more than VNĐ6.4 trillion (US$259.1 million), contributing roughly VNĐ3.8 trillion ($153.8 million) to the State budget.

In 2023, the casino business performance excelled compared to 2022, with revenue reaching nearly VNĐ2.2 trillion, an increase of 45.7 per cent, contributing VNĐ1.23 trillion to the State budget.

Ticket revenue from Vietnamese people in 2023 exceeded VNĐ32 billion($1.29 million), accumulating VNĐ242 billion ($9.79 million) from 2019 to 2023.

Although the casino business performance has improved compared to 2022, the report specifies that the overall project is still accumulating losses of more than VNĐ3.72 billion ($150,600) due to depreciation costs and large initial interest payments.

Regarding the number of visitors, from 2019 to the end of 2023, Vietnamese visitors numbered 295,943, accounting for 62 per cent of total players, while foreign visitors numbered 179,507, accounting for 38 per cent of total players.

In 2020 and 2021, the proportion of Vietnamese visitors was higher due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with no foreign visitors.

In 2023, the number of Vietnamese players significantly decreased, accounting for only 39 per cent of total visitors. 

The report clarifies that the company basically complies with the conditions of the business licence and regulations on organising casino business activities.

There are nine casino projects in Việt Nam with six small ones in Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh, Lào Cai and Đà Nẵng and three major casinos in Hội An of Quảng Nam Province, Hồ Tràm of Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province and Phú Quốc of Kiên Giang Province.

In 2021, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, revenue dropped sharply. Since 2022, foreign visitors started to return.

In 2023, the State budget contributions from casino business reached more than VNĐ2.54 trillion ($102.8 million), a 56 per cent increase compared to 2022, 1.8 times higher than before the outbreak of the pandemic.

This helped create about 8,500 jobs.

Regarding supervision work, the ministry has coordinated with ministries and the provincial People's Committees to inspect casino business activities at 12 enterprises. Among them, five were fined with a total amount of VNĐ980 million ($39,680).

Phớc suggests in the near future, the ministry will only grant licences to casino businesses with large-scale service, tourism, commerce, and entertainment areas with a minimum investment of $2 billion.

Casino business can only be organised after the project has disbursed at least 50 per cent of the total investment capital. The location of the casino business must be approved by the Politburo for each specific project and must be approved by the Prime Minister for investment policies. — VNS