Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has announced his government is partially lifting a longstanding ban on casino gambling by the country’s citizens.
The change currently is limited to two proposed resorts, one on Phu Quoc Island in the far south of the country, the other in the Van Don Special Economic Zone near the Chinese border and the popular tourist spot of Halong Bay.
It excludes, at least for now, the country’s most elaborate and expensive casino hotel to date, The Grand Ho Tram Strip, which opened in 2013 on the South China Sea coast about 70 miles from Ho Chi Minh City.
The prime minister’s announcement also confirmed the government is working on the draft of a new national gaming law that is expected to liberalize the market and establish provisions to govern investment in resort-scale casinos as drivers of foreign tourism and economic development tools.
“I think Vietnamese would be less likely to go outside of their country to gamble, and the capital outflow will be significantly reduced,” said academic and industry consultant Augustine Ha Ton Vinh in an interview with gaming news site Yogonet. “Foreign investors will be coming in and more money will be invested in the tourism industry.”
