Vietnam posts new requirements

Locals will need to meet certain requirements in order for them to be able to gamble.

Vietnam.- A new draft decree establishes that Vietnamese citizens will be required to accomplish a minimum income level to have the permission to gamble at local casinos. Locals will also need to be at least 21 years old.

According to VN Express, the Vietnamese citizens that want to gamble in the country will need to earn at least US$440 every month, and not have any family members opposing the action. The family members can directly send a letter to casinos without notifying the person that wants to gamble and request a ban. Industry officials believe that the gaming decree could be signed off really soon. Earlier this month, the local press had revealed that the government may allow the participation of residents in the gambling venues.

One casino located in the Van Don Special Economic Zone, in the north of the country, and another located in Phu Quoc Island, in the south of Vietnam, would be the first to be authorised to allow resident players to gamble. In another announcement made during the first week of the year, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said that foreign-use slot machines would face stricter regulation and control in current authorised casinos.

The legal slot machines installed in casinos nationwide would be modified to offer a payout percentage of 90 percent. Authorised operators would have to obtain the re-certification by the government to prove their slot machines meet the new conditions. Both new slot machines and current operating machines must add the 90 percent payout offering into software installation in factory. Furthermore, casino companies that would go to re-certification process must also be operating in G7 countries (Germany, Canada, US, France, Italy, Japan and UK).