Vietnamese Gamers Banned From Local Casinos

Canada-based Asian Coast Development (ACD) and MGM Resorts International are commencing building a $4 billion casino project in Vietnam. MGM Resorts will be responsible for managing the establishment.

The planned ‘MGM Grand in Vietnam’ will be the first large-scale luxury resort in the country. Plans reveal that the project is to be built on a beach front strip of land.

Similarly to Chinese gambling laws, Vietnam’s regulations and the country’s Ministry of Finance set heavy rules for investors in the country. But at least in Vietnam there’s an opportunity to develop gambling resorts.

In Vietnam, in order to meet the required conditions, the location of a casino site may only be in the areas designated for gambling. Every detail of the project must be approved by none else but the Prime Minister.

It is rumored that the investors also need to have a capital of $4 billion as back-up, plus ten years of hotel and tourism management experience.

ADC and MGM Resorts must first finish building the service, and entertainment establishments of the resorts and casino complex before gaining their final operation license.

Vietnam’s draft decree contains all the above mentioned conditions. But most importantly, the decree only allows foreign gamers as well as overseas Vietnamese with foreign passports to enter and play in the casinos.

Most Asian authorities want to protect their citizens from gambling. Industry experts doubt if the Vietnamese government can succeed, saying that even an advanced country like Singapore failed in this matter. They also share the same opinion about banning online casinos in China.

Economic expert Le Dang Doanh told a Chinese gambling news site: “The casino is a complicated business, though it brings in whopping profits. Even a developed country like Singapore has failed to adequately prevent the negative side of gambling from affecting society.”