On March 18, at the Q&A session, National Assembly’s deputies raised questions about lotteries, casinos, betting and electronic game business.

As many as 64 state-owned enterprises operate lotteries with revenue reaching VND153 trillion in 2023, an increase of 11 percent over 2022, the highest level so far. Of this, traditional lotteries made up 96 percent of total revenue.

“What are your solutions in this field? How has the revenue from lotteries been used for investment and development, especially in healthcare and education sectors?” Dieu Huynh Sang, a National Assembly Deputy, asked.

Phoc said the business has been growing well with high contributions to the state budget and the revenue has been invested in healthcare, education, new rural area development, and local infrastructure development.

Most lottery companies are located in southern provinces. In the south, the revenue is VND120 billion daily and 98 percent of lottery tickets are sold. The figures are just 39 percent in the central region and low in the north.

In order to develop lottery business and ensure sustainable development, it is necessary to carry out digital transformation in this sector, which means transactions implemented on a digital system. 

Also, lotteries will be sold via sale agents to create jobs for the poor and disadvantaged,” Phoc said, adding that revenue from lotteries was VND153 trillion in 2023.

National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Duy Minh from Da Nang said he was concerned about casino businesses.

“Please tell us how many businesses are running casinos and how their business performance is. Do casino businesses make contributions to local economic development, especially in developing tourism?” he asked. 

Phu Quoc Casino remains the only casino in Vietnam open to Vietnamese on a trial basis. Minh requested the minister to assess the pilot program and clarify if Vietnam would allow Vietnamese to go to casinos on a large scale.

Phoc said there are nine casinos in the country, including three large and six small ones. Two casinos are under construction.

From 2017 to 2023, casinos paid VND9 trillion to the state budget. They create 10,000 jobs.

Phoc confirmed that only one casino, in Phu Quoc, is open to Vietnamese, and in the immediate time, one more casino in Van Don will also be open to Vietnamese.

In its first years of operation, 69 percent of people going to the Phu Quoc casino were Vietnamese, but the figure has decreased over the years.

International betting

Nguyen Thi Hue, a National Assembly Deputy from Bac Kan, cited a Ministry of Finance’s (MOF) report as saying that in many localities, prize-winning electronic games and betting have been exploited to organize illegal gambling and betting, thus putting difficulties for the state management.

“Please tell us how the legal framework on prize-winning electronic games and betting has changed recently. Why doesn’t MOF license betting business? What are the solutions to make management in the field more effective?” Hue said.

There are 93 electronic games set up at 5-star hotels. Businesses have to have the capital of VND500 billion or more to be eligible for providing this service. Also, they have electronic equipment for supervision and professional staff.

In general, these electronic games are only open to foreigners, not Vietnamese. The electronic games help optimize the business of 5-star hotels and generate more jobs.

As for betting, according to Phoc, there are three types, including football, horse racing and dog racing. However, betting still cannot be provided in Vietnam.

When allowing international football betting in Vietnam, MOF tried to create regulations to organize bids in this field. 

However, the then-Law on Bidding did not have provisions related to betting. Therefore, MOF asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to amend the Law on Bidding and add provisions related to betting into the new law.

So, to deploy football betting, it is necessary to build a legal framework for this business first.

Regarding horse and dog racing betting, Phoc said under the current regulations, horse and dog racing fields must be equipped well and regulated by professional workers. Two horse and dog racing projects are under implementation.

“This is a new type of business and we need to do research and prevent possible risks at the same time,” Phoc said.

Thu Hang - Tran Thuong