Proposed draft law permits 21-year-olds to gamble
(VOV) - Vietnamese citizens at least 21 years old may become eligible to gamble at casinos in Vietnam, according to a new draft on casino business by the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
The proposal is considered the most important change in legislation allowing Vietnamese people to enter casinos for gambling. Under the MoF’s previous draft, only foreigners and Vietnamese holding foreign passports and residing overseas, are permitted to gamble at casinos.
The new draft also stipulates that the casino investor must have at least five years of experience in casino business (instead of ten years in the last draft). It also requires casino investors to have registered capital of at least US$4 million to obtain a licence.
For each sum of US$20 million of investment capital, the investor may buy and operate one table and ten machines. An increase in numbers of machines is dependent on the casino’s total increased investment capital.
At present, seven businesses have been granted licenses to operate casinos in Vietnam. Two integrated casino-resorts in the Phu Quoc Island and Van Don Island have been given the green light to solicit for investment.