Pilot project allowing Vietnamese to play casinos loses more than 3,700 billion VND

This content is stated in the report of the Ministry of Finance sent to National Assembly deputies to serve the questioning session of the National Assembly Standing Committee, which will take place on March 18.

According to the report, in 2016, the Politburo allowed Vietnamese people to play casino in Phu Quoc and Van Don on a pilot basis for 3 years. Currently, only one casino project in Phu Quoc has been operational since January 2019.

After more than 2 years of piloting, since May 2021, the Ministry of Finance has proactively coordinated with ministries and branches to report to the Prime Minister to evaluate the pilot process.

By August 2023, with the consent of the Government Party Committee, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Finance reported to the Politburo on the pilot results and is in the process of asking for the Politburo's direction.

The report stated that the accumulated revenue from 2019 to 2023 reached 6,404 billion VND, contributing to the state budget reached 3,679 billion VND. In 2023, casino business results improved compared to 2022, with revenue reaching 2,180 billion VND (up 45.7%), contributing to the state budget was 1,230 billion VND (up 68.9%).

Ticket revenue (for Vietnamese) in 2023 reached 32,225 billion VND, accumulated from 2019 to 2023 reached 242 billion VND. Although the casino business results are better than in 2022, the overall project is suffering an accumulated loss of 3,724 billion VND due to large depreciation costs and interest payments in the first phase.

The overall pilot project for Vietnamese people to play in Casinos is suffering an accumulated loss of 3,724 billion VND. (Illustration: Tien Phong)

According to the report, from 2019 to the end of 2023, the cumulative number of Vietnamese players is 295,943 (accounting for 62% of total players), and foreigners are 179,507 (accounting for 38% of total players).

In 2020 and 2021, the proportion of Vietnamese visitors was higher due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with no foreign visitors. In 2023, Vietnamese visitors decreased significantly (accounting for 39% of total visitors, equal to 87% compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic).

The Ministry of Finance also said that so far, there are 9 casino projects in operation, including 6 small-scale casinos and 3 large-scale casinos. In addition, there are currently 2 projects under construction according to the provisions of the investment law, but have not yet been put into casino business due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the implementation is slow, there are difficulties in negotiating and selecting partners, and managing casino business.

In 2019 - 2021, revenue from casino business activities decreased due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, with no foreign visitors coming to play. From 2022, foreign visitors began to return.

Regarding management, supervision and inspection, the Ministry of Finance has coordinated with the Ministries of Public Security, Planning and Investment, Culture, Sports and Tourism, the State Bank, and the People's Committees of provinces and cities to inspect casino business activities at 12 enterprises, issuing 5 decisions to impose fines with a total amount of 980 million VND; 4 provincial People's Committees have organized inspections at 5 enterprises.

In addition, the Ministry of Public Security has also directed professional units and local police to inspect the assurance of social order and safety according to assigned functions and tasks, and localities have closely coordinated to manage and control subjects entering and exiting business locations and ensure social order and safety in the area.

In the coming time, the Ministry of Finance will continue to grant casino business licenses to large-scale projects in service, tourism, trade, and entertainment complexes with a total investment of at least 2 billion USD; casino business can only be organized after the project has disbursed at least 50% of the total investment capital;

Casino business locations are approved by the Politburo for each specific project and must be approved by the Prime Minister in accordance with investment law.

The Party Committee of the Ministry of Finance is reporting to the Politburo for approval on the pilot project to allow Vietnamese people to play in casinos, continuing with the principle of caution, focusing only on Phu Quoc and Van Don, the two projects approved by the Politburo; not yet expanding the pilot project to other casino projects and some other contents on casino business activities to amend and supplement Decree No. 03/2017/ND-CP to complete the legal framework.

Cong Hieu

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