Vietnam may legalise football betting with a €38 daily limit

The Asian country aims to legalise sports betting under a 2010 proposal that states that players can bet as much as €38 on football matches.

Vietnam.- The Finance ministry is seeking the government’s approval to legalise sports betting under a plan that has been slammed by critics for keeping the maximum stake too low.

Deputy chair of the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors, Nguyen Hoang Hai, said that it’s a huge disappointment that the ministry has stuck to proposals made in a 2010 draft. “No one will bet within the proposed limit of €38 a day. Or they will have others to bet for them. Betting should be either banned or legalised. But it should not be half allowed like this,” he added.

The ministry will submit the proposal to the government this month, and it seeks to legalise sports betting on certain international football matches where people can bet on scores, number of yellow and red cards, among other things. These rules will be decided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The 2010 draft had proposed legalising betting on both domestic and international football games. The new proposal aims at keeping a careful eye on gamblers and step-by-step development to avoid regrettable consequences. Nguyen Van Hien, a former chairman of the National Assembly’s Legal Committee, said that people will still bet illegally on international networks due to the low betting limit.

Former director of the Prices Management Institute Ngo Tri Long said: “Relevant agencies should not have taken nearly a decade to consider legalisation of sports betting, which is allowed in 130 countries and territories.”