According to public media, a new version of the draft decree on casino (the Casino Draft) has been internally circulated to interested parties including senior experts/consultants and other State bodies of Vietnam. While full text of the draft is not made public, local newspapers give us some hints about how the Casino Draft would be shaped. For example, it is more likely that Vietnamese citizens of 21 years old or more who are able to show evidence on their ‘financial capacity’ and afford the entrance fee may gamble at casinos. Detailed conditions are still on their way.
One more notable change is that registered total investment capital would be reduced from $4 billion to $2 billion. Please be noted that the above threshold include both borrowings and equity though it is still unclear about the minimum equity that the investor must contribute.
For now, Vietnam has 04 areas which are planned to aim at entertainment complexes that have casinos inside, which are Van Don (Quang Ninh Province), Hoi An (Quang Nam Province), Ho Tram (Vung Tau Province) and Phu Quoc (Kien Giang Province). So far, only Ho Tram Project came into operations while other are still in the process of infrastructure development. However we understand that the above list is not closed. This means that investors may actively propose new areas for the Government’s consideration.
It is expected that the Casino Draft will be officially issued in March 2016 following the Communist Party’s Congress.
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Please do not hesitate to contact Oliver Massmann under omassmann@duanemorris.com if you have any questions or want to know more details on the above. Oliver Massmann is the General Director of Duane Morris Vietnam LLC.