Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has proposed expanding a pilot program under which locals are permitted to gamble in selected casinos by adding two more casinos and extending the trial period by an additional two years.

First announced in 2017, the pilot program was originally planned to run for three years, starting in 2019, with two casinos designated for locals to gamble. However, only one of those, Corona Resort & Casino in Phú Quốc, is currently operational with the other, located in the rural district of Van Don in Quang Ninh Province, yet to open.

According to a report by VietnamNet, the Ministry of Finance wants to extend the pilot program until 2024 due to the impact of COVID-19 on the initial trial period, and to add in additional casinos located in Da Nang City and Khanh Hoa Province.

The two locations are deemed prime locations to aid tourism recovery with VND16 trillion (US$695 million) having already been poured into the related resort project in Da Nang City and around VND 25.7 trillion (US$1.1 billion) into the Khanh Hoa Province project, owned by hospitality giant VinPearl and including a hotel, amusement park, golf course and convention center.

Notably absent from the Ministry of Finance’s proposal is The Grand Ho Tram Strip, opened in 2013, and Hoiana, located near Hoi An in central Vietnam, which opened in 2020.

Vietnamese casino owners had previously petitioned authorities to allow locals gambling in response to a lack of business due to COVID-19.

Under the current pilot program, locals entry is limited to Vietnamese citizens who are over 21 and able to show monthly income of at least VND10 million (US$431). They must also pay an entry tax of VND1 million per 24 hours.