VietNamNet Bridge – Three vice chairs of the National Assembly have unexpectedly recommended that Vietnamese nationals be admitted to casinos, thus breathing life back into the dreams of some developers.

The Vietnamese saying, “nothing is impossible”, may come true in the case of casino projects.

The National Assembly’s deputies and government agencies, in past statements, have repeatedly pressed their viewpoint that Vietnamese should not be allowed into casinos. The rationale is that opening the door could have immeasurable social consequences.

Nevertheless, investors have never abandoned their hopes of developing casino projects which would be open to Vietnamese as well as foreigners.

What happened at the National Assembly Standing Committee’s meeting suggested quite a different situation: three of the assembly’s vice chairs suggested that casinos should indeed be accessible to Vietnamese.

Nguyen Van Hien, Chair of the National Assembly’s Legal Committee, is one of the advocates. “This is really a delicate issue, and casino gambling is not encouraged in Vietnam, due to the complicated problems it can give rise to. However, this does not necessarily mean that the situation would become uncontrollable,” Hien said.

Deputy Chair Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan warned that if the government prohibits Vietnamese from gambling here, they will simply go to Cambodia, China, Hong Kong or Singapore for the purpose.

It is estimated that Vietnamese spend some $800 million abroad on casino gambling every year. If they were to patronize Vietnamese casinos instead, a huge sum of money would stay in the country, helping to mitigate Vietnam’s so called “foreign currency drain”.

“We should think carefully about whether to allow Vietnamese to enter casinos, and if the answer is ‘yes’, we need to set up very strict regulations to tighten control over the gambling activities,” Ngan said.

Assembly Deputy Chair Uong Chu Luu also said he advocates the idea of allowing capable Vietnamese to get their gaming fixes in domestic casinos.

“Vietnamese still cross the border gates everyday to gamble. Why shouldn’t we allow them to play right in Vietnam?” Luu asked.

Another National Assembly Deputy Chair, Tong Thi Phong, noted that it would be easier to manage the gamblers and foreign currencies if they played in Vietnam, not overseas.

A source from the Ministry of Finance said in the near future, Vietnamese who can prove their income and good records may be admitted to the Van Don casino in the Van Don Special Economic Zone, which is to be set up in the near future.

However, it is unclear when the casino will be built. Its fate depends on the implementation of the special economic zone project and construction of the international airport in the zone.  Meanwhile, the fate of the special economic zone depends on the legal framework and investment incentives to be set up to lure investors.

Pham Huyen