The operator of the Vietnamese casino Royal Ha Long says big wins for patrons and the World Cup are to blame for a 30% fall in revenues.
Royal International Corporation, the Royal Ha Long operator, posted losses of $342,000 in the second quarter, down from profits of $380,000 in Q2 of 2025.
Royal Ha Long is the largest casino in the northeastern Quang Ninh Province, the Vietnamese media outlet Tuoi Tre reported.
The company said that Q2 of 2026 saw many of its “high-stakes” VIP patrons win “consecutive bets.” The result was a dramatic reduction in revenue from prize-winning games.
Most Vietnamese casinos can only admit foreign passport holders, leaving them heavily dependent on international tourist arrivals.
However, last year, the Finance Ministry began a pilot for domestic casino patrons. The pilot allowed selected citizens to pay a $95-per-day casino entry fee or purchase monthly passes for around $1,900.
Vietnamese Casino: World Cup & Falling Tourist Numbers Hit Our Profits
The latest figures come as a major blow for RIC. The operator previously unveiled a $7.6 million revenue target for 2026.
RIC also said it wanted to achieve post-tax profits of over half a million US dollars. But with half of the year gone, the company has only achieved about 38% of its revenue plan goals, the media outlet reported.
RIC said it would take steps to address the slide by launching various customer retention efforts and expanding its customer base.
For the moment, however, the company is operating at a loss, with gaming revenues dropping by 50% to around $646,000.
Non-gaming revenues, by contrast, rose, with hotel, food and beverages, and other services all experiencing second-quarter growth.
RIC called the 2026 World Cup “one of the main reasons” for the slowdown.
The company said the tournament boosted global entertainment spending, “causing high-end customers to reduce the frequency of their casino visits.”
Fuel Prices ‘Also to Blame’
RIC also said geopolitical tensions are driving up fuel prices. This, the operator said, is leading to higher airfares and affecting the number of international tourists arriving in the province.
The firm added that the second quarter is also the offseason for international tourism in the city of Ha Long, with cruise ship travel usually low in this period.
However, Vietnam National Authority of Tourism figures showed tourist arrivals rose by almost 15% in the first half of the year. The government says it wants to attract 25 million foreign tourists in 2026.
The Royal Ha Long Casino has 18 live gaming tables and 62 electronic gaming machines.
The operator launched on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange in 2007, but was delisted in May 2022 after suffering losses for three consecutive years.
It currently trades on the Vietnamese Unlisted Public Company Market, also known as UPCoM.
In Macao, analysts have also blamed the World Cup for a slowdown in gaming spending. The latest VIP room receipts figures for the top casinos in the Chinese special administrative region show a 2.6% year-on-year fall.
