In the new draft decree on electronic games that offer prizes, the government has reiterated its long-standing position that only foreign passport holders will be allowed to use casinos in Vietnam’s five-star hotels.
Only foreign passport holders will be allowed to use casinos in Vietnam’s five-star hotels
The Standing Committee of the National Assembly discussed the issued on October 8 and proposed to raise the requirements for opening new casinos.
Talking about the regulation that only allowed foreigners and overseas Vietnamese to play at casinos, the Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue said Overseas Vietnamese with dual citizenship can play at casinos by using the foreign visa when entering Vietnam.
Only five-star hotels or resorts or establishments or high class establishments rated by the local Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourisms are allowed to open casinos. They also must fulfil the requirements for securities, finance and legal 10-year renewable business licenses in Vietnam.
The move marks a tightening up on regulations as previously, only three-star hotel in localities and four-star hotels in Hanoi and HCMC were entitled to open gambling establishments.
The draft decree also specifies that such casinos should only provide one machine for every five guestrooms.
However, Chairman of the NA Committee for Finance and Budget Phung Quoc Hien warned that the number of machine could skyrocket with this rate. He said legislators should consider a higher rate or give out a specific rule on the number of machines at each gambling location since the business was not encouraged.
Other worries were also voiced such as the uncontrollable spread of casino across the country that has plagued golf courses and universities.
However, despite the increasingly harsh domestic rules, Vietnamese regularly visit casinos in Cambodia, with the associated crimes becoming a hot issue.
"This is a complicated business that needs great consideration. We should impose a rule so the casinos can't be separated from hotels or resorts." Chairman of the NA National Defence and Security Committee Nguyen Kim Khoa said.
National Assembly Deputy Chairman Uong Chu Luu said the decree must state in detail the solutions for disputes between gamblers and service providers. He wanted to avoid cases such as the Sheraton Hotel in HCM City when player said the machine had announced that they had won while the hotel said the machine had an error, a situation that has yet to be resolved.
Luu also wants to clear up the responsible agencies for quality and technical problems of the machines if disputes break out.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the casinos will not only provide more jobs, but also attract tourists and foreign investment. Currently, Vietnam has 43 gaming centres open to people with foreign visas.
These centres recorded average profits of VND20 billion per establishment in 2011 and they also contributed VND1.5 trillion to the state budget. The most serious problem has been lax management in granting businesses permits. As a result, some gaming establishments had been located away from their registered business and had let the locals in.
