Eligible Vietnamese citizens are permitted to enter the casino at the Phú Quốc casino project in An Giang Province from November 26, 2025. — Photo chinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Government has issued a resolution allowing eligible Vietnamese citizens to enter casinos at several casino business projects.

The resolution permits eligible Vietnamese citizens to enter the casino at the Phú Quốc casino project in An Giang Province from November 26.

It also pilots allowing eligible Vietnamese citizens to enter the casino at the Hồ Tràm casino project in HCM City for five years from November 26 and at the Vân Đồn project in Quảng Ninh Province for five years from the date a certificate of eligibility for casino business operations is issued.

Under the resolution, the management of eligible Vietnamese citizens entering casinos, as well as the business and supervision of casino activities at the above-mentioned projects, must comply with Government Decree No. 03/2017/NĐ-CP on casino business operations or any amended, supplemented or replaced documents.

At the end of the pilot period, the Hồ Tràm and Vân Đồn casino projects must stop allowing eligible Vietnamese citizens to enter casinos until a competent authority issues conclusions in line with the law on casino business operations.

The resolution takes effect on November 26.

Casino project owners are responsible for organising business operations and managing eligible Vietnamese citizens entering casinos strictly and lawfully, in accordance with regulations on casino business operations.

In 2016, the Politburo permitted a pilot scheme allowing Vietnamese citizens to enter casinos in Phú Quốc and Vân Đồn for three years.

However, at that time, only the Phú Quốc Casino was operating, beginning in January 2019. Under Decree No. 03/2017/NĐ-CP, the pilot was to run until January 2022.

In 2022, the Ministry of Finance proposed that the Government submit to the Politburo a request to extend the pilot period by two more years at Phú Quốc Casino, until the end of 2024.

The ministry explained that the COVID-19 pandemic had severely affected casino business performance, meaning the short initial pilot period did not produce the desired results.

In May 2024, the Politburo agreed to extend the pilot scheme allowing Vietnamese citizens to enter casinos at the Phú Quốc project until the end of 2024.

For the Vân Đồn project, the pilot period was set at three years from the date the project begins casino business operations. To promptly formalise this extension, the Government issued Decree No. 145/2024/NĐ-CP amending Decree No. 03/2017/NĐ-CP on the pilot duration permitting Vietnamese citizens to enter casino business locations.

Accordingly, for the first casino enterprise permitted to pilot welcoming Vietnamese citizens to enter casinos, the pilot duration ran until December 31, 2024.

For other casino enterprises, the pilot duration is three years from the date they receive a certificate of eligibility for casino business operations.

Decree No. 145/2024/NĐ-CP stipulates that once the pilot period ends, enterprises must stop allowing Vietnamese citizens to enter casinos until the Government issues a decree on either terminating or continuing to permit Vietnamese citizens to enter casinos. — VNS