Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has agreed with a proposal from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to temporarily suspend a draft decree allowing slot machines at Vietnam’s international airports.

The draft will restart three years after the implementation of a pilot on the gambling business for foreigners under amended Decree No. 86/2013.

The idea of slot machines and gambling at international airports was first proposed by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) in July 2015. In December 2015 the government gave in principle approval for the installation of slot machines at international airports for foreign and overseas Vietnamese passengers transiting or leaving the country.

In 2016 MoF established a decree drafting team involving MoT, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Public Security, and conducted a survey at international airports. The model is suitable for Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Phu Quoc, and Da Nang international airports, according to Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV).

The government is now is considering a draft decree on the casino business that may allow Vietnamese citizens to enter a new casino at the Van Don Special Administrative-Economic Zone in northern Quang Ninh province on a trial basis.

At a meeting with Quang Ninh authorities on December 22, Prime Minister Phuc confirmed that a Politburo decision already gives permission for Vietnamese people to enter two casinos: the one at Van Don and another on Phu Quoc Island.

Gaming machines have become familiar at some airports around the world for passengers to play as they wait for delayed or canceled flights. Under existing laws, Vietnamese people living in Vietnam are not allowed to gamble anywhere in the country.

The country now has 43 sites offering electronic gaming machines and eight casinos, all for foreigners and foreign passport holders, according to MoF.

There are seven licensed casino businesses but most are of small-scale, with investment capital of less than $50 million. Only two large-scale projects - Ho Tram Strip, with investment of $4 billion and which went into operation in 2013, and a project at the South Hoi An Resort in Quang Nam province - are still within plans.

VN Economic Times