Vietnamese Finance Ministry Set to Trial New $95 Casino Entry Fee for Citizens

The Vietnamese Finance Ministry has announced plans to trial a new $95-per-day casino entry fee system for domestic passport holders as part of an ongoing gambling pilot program.

The Vietnamese media outlet Dantri reported that the Ministry of Finance’s proposed pilot program would require Vietnamese citizens to buy daily entry tickets for VND 2.5 million ($95.24).

Alternatively, they could buy monthly passes for VND 50 million ($1,905) per month.

Vietnamese Casino Pilot Set to Enter New Phase

The proposal also proposes restricting citizens aged under 21 from entering casinos. It also seeks to bar citizens who lack full civil capacity.

The ministry wants to ensure that people whose close relatives have been barred from casinos are also blocked from gambling.

The Ministry of Finance’s proposal also stipulates that casino operators would be responsible for installing and operating 24/7 surveillance camera systems in all parts of their casinos.

These areas would include entrance and exit points, gaming floors, safe deposit boxes, chip exchange counters, and other locations where cash or chips are used.

The ministry requires operators to store data and videos for at least 180 days and make this information available upon request from regulators or the police.

It added that it wants casinos to issue bettors smart ID cards. These would contain information such as betting permit expiration dates along with personal or financial data.

Time to Streamline Financial Verification System, Says Ministry

Finance chiefs say that the existing permit system for casino entry has served the country well. However, they concede that they need to streamline financial status verification protocols.

Currently, regulators require bettors in the pilot zone to present multiple documents to demonstrate that they are not in debt or living in poverty. This helps ensure bettors with financial troubles do not use casinos, the government says.

However, this process is complicated and has created difficulties for both bettors and casino operators.

Critics argue that this means citizens experience more friction in domestic casinos than they do when gambling abroad.

The nation’s policy-making body, the Politburo, has already signed off on the proposal. However, the ministry will require final governmental approval before it can implement the plan.

The pilot was first announced in 2016, with plans to allow limited gambling at casinos in Phu Quoc and Van Don.

However, after a few delays, it officially began in 2019. It was initially slated to end in January 2022, but has since been extended on multiple occasions.

Casino operators elsewhere in the nation are currently only allowed to grant access to foreign passport holders.

The Politburo has instructed several ministries to assist in overseeing operations at the pilot casinos. They are also compiling assessments as the government decides whether it wants to allow Vietnamese citizens to continue accessing casinos.

Earlier this year, the finance ministry requested that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh approve a luxury $2.16 billion casino, tourism, and entertainment complex project in Quang Ninh Province.