Royal Halong Casino in the northern province of Quang Ninh. Photo courtesy of Royal International Corporation (RIC)
HANOI: The Finance Ministry has reported on the casino business situation in Vietnam, indicating that the pilot project allowing Vietnamese individuals to gamble is experiencing financial losses due to a decreasing number of players.
In the report submitted to National Assembly (NA) deputies, ahead of a question-and-answer session at the NA’s Standing Committee, Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc said that this type of activity is exclusively reserved for foreigners.
In 2016, the Politburo allowed a trial for Vietnamese people to gamble in casinos on Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang and in Van Don District in the northern province of Quang Ninh for a period of three years.
Currently, only the casino project on Phu Quoc Island has been operational since January 2019.
After more than two years, the ministry reported its findings to the Prime Minister and the Politburo on the trial results.
The report outlined the accumulated revenue from 2019 to 2023 of this project, which reached more than 6.4 trillion dong, contributing roughly 3.8 trillion dong to the state budget.
In 2023, the casinos grew in revenue compared to 2022, reaching nearly 2.2 trillion dong, an increase of 45.7%, and contributing 1.23 trillion dong to the state.
Ticket revenue from Vietnamese people in 2023 exceeded 32 billion dong, accumulating 242 billion dong from 2019 to 2023.
Although the casino business performance improved compared to 2022, the report said that the overall project still accumulated losses of more than 3.72 billion dong due to depreciation costs and large interest payments.
Regarding the number of visitors, from 2019 to the end of 2023, Vietnamese visitors numbered 295,943, accounting for 62% of total players, while foreign visitors numbered 179,507, accounting for the 38% balance.
In 2020 and 2021, the number of Vietnamese visitors was 100% due to the impact of Covid, with no foreign visitors.
In 2023, the number of Vietnamese players significantly decreased, accounting for only 39% of the total number of visitors.
There are nine casino projects in Vietnam, with six small ones in Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Lao Cai and Da Nang and three major casinos in Hoi An of Quang Nam Province, Ho Tram of Ba Ria in Vung Tau Province and Phu Quoc of Kien Giang Province.
In 2023, the state budget contributions from casinos reached more than 2.54 trillion dong, a 56% increase compared to 2022 and 1.8 times higher than before the outbreak of the pandemic.
Phoc suggested that in the future, the ministry should only grant licences to casino businesses with large-scale services, tourism, commerce and entertainment areas and with a minimum investment of US$2bil.
The locations of the casinos are subject to the approval of the Politburo and the Prime Minister for investment policies. — Viet Nam News/ANN
