Vietnam could see two new foreigner-only casinos

Da Nang City and Khanh Hoa Province have applied for licences for new casinos.

Vietnam.- Da Nang City and Khanh Hoa Province have submitted proposals to license two new only-foreigner casinos. Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has backed the projects arguing they could foster tourism growth.

According to the proposals, the casinos would be built on the Sun World Ba Na Hills in Da Nang City and Hon Tre Island in Khanh Hoa Province. Da Nang City does not yet have a large casino, while Khanh Hoa already has permission to develop a casino and resort complex at KN Paradise in Cam Ranh. That’s currently under construction.

There are currently nine casinos in Vietnam, but Vietnamese citizens are only permitted to enter one casino on the southern island of Phu Quoc and one in Van Don, in the northern province of Quang Ninh. In June 2021, the ministry proposed an extension of the scheme that allows Vietnamese citizens to gamble at selected casinos until 2024.

Last March, casino operators asked the government to expand Vietnamese citizens’ access to casinos in major tourist destinations such as Quang Nam and Ba Ria-Vung Tau to help casinos face the loss of revenue from tourists due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, authorities rejected the petition.