Ho Chi Minh City has put its hand up to be part of a pilot program under which locals are permitted to gamble at a handful of selected casinos around the country.
According to local media reports, the Ho Chi Minh People’s Committee has proposed locals gaming to the city’s National Assembly delegation with the goal of taking the concept to the Party Central Committee at its next session.
It is reported that, if approved, the program would target casinos opened at hotels rated five stars and above. It is unclear if this refers to the various slots clubs already operating in Ho Chi Minh City in various five star hotels, or the Committee has a Ho Chi Minh City-based table games casino or integrated resort in mind — or even both. Reports also suggest the concept is aimed at boosting tourism investment in popular tourist destinations, presumably those frequented by locals from other parts of Vietnam.
The proposal comes just two months after Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance said it wants to expand the pilot locals program by extending the trial period by an additional two years and adding two more casinos, its preference being new casino developments located in Da Nang City and Khanh Hoa Province.
First announced in 2017, the pilot program was originally planned to run for three years, starting in 2019, with two casinos designated for locals to gamble. However, only one of those, Corona Resort & Casino in Phú Quốc, is currently operational with the other, located in the rural district of Van Don in Quang Ninh Province, yet to open.
Under the current pilot program, locals entry is limited to Vietnamese citizens who are over 21 and able to show monthly income of at least VND10 million (US$431). They must also pay an entry tax of VND1 million per 24 hours.
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