Vietnam: HCMC Lottery Company posts profits of US$31.46m for H1
The first half of the year saw HCMC Lottery Company profits rise by 27 per cent year-on-year.
Vietnam.- The HCMC Lottery Company Ltd has shared its financial results for the first half of the year. It’s reported revenues of VND5.46tn, reaching nearly 54 per cent of the year’s target. The lottery firm earned record profits of VND736bn (over US$31.46m), up 27 per cent when compared to the previous year.
Sales of traditional lottery tickets and scratch-off tickets were the primary revenue sources, followed by office leases and printing. From the beginning of the year until mid-July, the company paid more than VND2.8tn to lottery winners.
According to VnExpress, the company’s sales are twice as high as they were a decade ago, and profits three times higher. This year, the company expects sales of VND 10.15tn and profit before tax of VND1.17tn. Its payments to the state budget are estimated to be around VND3.04tn.
Vietnam could see two new foreigner-only casinos
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.
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.
