Vietnam to introduce new gambling rules from February 12

Authorities in Vietnam have revealed they will launch a new set of rules regarding electronic gaming machine play in the country.

Vietnam.- The government of Vietnam has introduced a set of new rules aimed at further regulating the country’s electronic gaming machine play, including rules for foreigners playing in local casinos, side betting and illegal online gambling.

Asia Gaming Brief revealed the new rules come from Decree No. 121/2021/ND-CP, which contains a list of 15 banned acts related to all “award-winning electronic game machines” which also includes slot machines.

The majority of Vietnam casinos only allow foreigners to gamble. At present, Vietnamese citizens are only permitted to enter two casinos: one on the southern island of Phu Quoc and the other in Van Don in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

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, the government said the current scheme won’t be expanded.

According to the new law, foreign casino visitors now need to bring documents proving that they are foreigners or Vietnamese living abroad who have legally entered Vietnam with a valid visa.

The decree also stipulates that players are not allowed to organise direct bets with each other based on the results of “rewarded electronic games”.

Other activities prohibited by the decree include illegal organisation and provision of prize-winning electronic games via the internet, computer networks or telecommunications networks.