It mentioned six small casinos licensed before Notice No16 and three large casinos, namely Ho Tram, Phu Quoc and Nam Hoi An.

Two projects have got the nod for investment in Thua Thien - Hue and Khanh Hoa and are under construction.

As for the casino project in Van Don (Quang Ninh), it has been awaiting approval for investment since 2017. It is expected that investors will be chosen through bidding.

Regarding business results, MOF’s report showed that in 2017-2019, the casino business grew year after year with average revenue of VND1.7 trillion and the contribution to the state budget was VND858 billion a year.

Since 2020, because of Covid-19, casinos have fallen into difficulties. They had to suspend operation  because of a lockdown. In 2021, Hong Van Casino did not operate.

The business results of casinos have worsened compared to the pre-pandemic period. In 2021,  revenue was just 89 percent of 2020 and 57 percent of 2019. 

The total revenue of six small casinos in 2021 was VND86 billion, while the three large casinos had VND1.462 trillion, which amounted to 94 percent of total revenue of the nine casinos.

“All the nine casinos took a loss in 2021,” MOF said.

Regarding the pilot policy on allowing Vietnamese to go to casinos, MOF reported that the Prime Minister in 2019 approved investment in the casino in Phu Quoc and allowed Vietnamese to go to the casino for three years. The project began and received Vietnamese on January 7, 2019.

In 2019-2020, revenue from the casino grew, 9.5 percent per annum. But since 2021, because of Covid-19, revenue and the number of players have fallen, just 90 percent of 2020.

The accumulated revenue from the time of starting  business to the end of 2021 was VND3.218 trillion. The total number of players at the casino was VND240,560. Of these, foreigners accounted for 34.4 percent and Vietnamese 65.6 percent.

The investor reported a loss of VND1.141 trillion for the casino and loss of VND2,453.9 billion for the whole project. 

The amount of tax paid to the state budget from casino business was VND1.73 trillion, including VND141 billion from the sale of tickets to Vietnamese.

Luong Bang