Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance is supporting proposals by Da Nang City and Khanh Hoa Province to license and construct two new foreign-player-only casinos in the Southeast Asian country. 

Prospective casinos would be built at Da Nang City’s entertainment and resort complex Sun World Ba Na Hills, and Khanh Hoa Province’s Hon Tre Island.  

The country’s Ministry of Finance believes both locations have significant tourism potential to attract foreign visitors. 

Da Nang currently has no major casinos, although Khanh Hoa is in the process of constructing a casino and resort complex, KN Paradise in Cam Ranh. 

However, Vietnam’s central province Binh Thuan has had its proposal to build a casino and resort rejected by the ministry. The financial body has deemed the region to have low tourism potential having neither port nor airport. 

In addition, the ministry has recommended the extension of a trial programme, allowing Vietnamese locals to gamble at Phu Quoc Casino until 2024.  

This is despite Vietnam having longstanding social and political anti-gambling sentiment. The trial period at Phu Quoc Casino was due to expire at the end of 2021, but the Ministry will look to extend this given Vietnam’s casinos were hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic.  

Phu Quoc Casino had seen revenue rise sequentially in 2019 and 2020 before it dipped 10% in 2021 as a result of Covid-19. 

Vietnam has nine foreign-player-only casinos, with resorts in Kien Giang Province, Quang Nam Province and Vung Tau Province. 

Recently, Gambling Insider spoke to the CMO of Vietnam’s Hoiana Integrated Resort, Jit Ng, on his hopes for the future of the country’s gaming industry and enhancing integration at the Hoiana resort.