This content is presented in the report of the Ministry of Finance sent to the members of the National Assembly serving the question and answer session of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, which will take place on March 18.
According to the report, in 2016, the Politburo allowed the pilot of allowing Vietnamese citizens to gamble in casinos in Phu Quoc and Van Don, with a pilot period of 03 years. Currently, there is only a casino project in Phu Quoc that has started operating since January 2019.
After more than 2 years of piloting, since May 2021, the Ministry of Finance has actively coordinated with departments and agencies, reporting to the Prime Minister to evaluate the pilot process.
By August 2023, with the agreement of the Party Committee of the Government, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Finance reported to the Politburo on the pilot results and is in the process of requesting guidance from the Politburo.
The report states that the accumulated revenue from 2019 to 2023 reached 6,404 billion VND, paying into the state budget 3,679 billion VND. In 2023, the casino business results excelled compared to 2022, with revenue reaching 2,180 billion VND (an increase of 45.7%), paying into the state budget 1,230 billion VND (an increase of 68.9%).
Annual ticket revenue (for Vietnamese nationals) in 2023 reached 32,225 billion VND, accumulated from 2019 to 2023 reached 242 billion VND. Although the casino business results are more promising than in 2022, the overall project is still incurring accumulated losses of 3,724 billion VND due to high initial depreciation and interest expenses.
The overall pilot project for allowing Vietnamese citizens to gamble in casinos is incurring accumulated losses of 3,724 billion VND. (Illustrative image: Tien Phong)
According to the report, from 2019 to the end of 2023, Vietnamese players accounted for 295,943 people (62% of the total number of players), and foreign players accounted for 179,507 people (38% of the total number of players).
In 2020 and 2021, the proportion of Vietnamese players was higher due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic without foreign players. In 2023, the number of Vietnamese players decreased significantly (accounting for 39% of the total number of players, equivalent to 87% compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak).
The Ministry of Finance also announced that up to now, there are 9 casino projects in operation, including 6 small-scale casinos and 3 large-scale casinos. In addition, there are currently 2 projects under construction in accordance with investment regulations, not yet put into casino business due to the impact of COVID-19, so their implementation has been delayed, facing difficulties in negotiating and selecting partners, managing casino business.
From 2019 to 2021, revenue from casino business activities suffered a decline due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with no foreign visitors. Since 2022, foreign visitors have started to return.
In terms of supervision and inspection, the Ministry of Finance has coordinated with the Ministries of Public Security, Planning and Investment, Culture, Sports and Tourism, State Bank, and People’s Committees of provinces and cities to inspect casino business activities at 12 enterprises, issuing 5 decisions on fines totaling 980 million VND; 4 provincial People’s Committees have conducted inspections at 5 enterprises.
In addition, the Ministry of Public Security has directed specialized units and local police to carry out inspections to ensure social order and safety according to assigned functions and tasks, and localities have closely managed and well-controlled the entry and exit of people at business points and social order and safety on the area.
In the coming time, the Ministry of Finance will continue to grant casino business licenses for large-scale projects in service, tourism, trade, and entertainment complexes with a minimum total investment of 2 billion USD; only allowed to operate the casino business after the project has disbursed at least 50% of the total investment capital;
The location for casino business will be approved by the Politburo for each specific project and must be approved by the Prime Minister for investment policy as prescribed by investment law.
The Party Committee of the Ministry of Finance is reporting to the Politburo to request continuing the pilot of allowing Vietnamese citizens to gamble in casinos in a cautious manner, focusing only on Phu Quoc and Van Don, which are two projects approved by the Politburo; not expanding the pilot for other casino projects and other contents regarding casino business activities to revise and supplement Decree No. 03/2017/ND-CP to improve the legal framework.
