Vietnamese lawmakers pushing for regulated sports betting

Vietnam’s efforts to legalize sports betting seem to be taking a positive route and might be implemented sooner than expected.

The government announced in 2017 that it would create a pilot scheme to license one operator to offer betting on international football. The government thought that the program would be operational in time for the FIFA World Cup in 2018.

However, in 2018, the Vietnamese English-language newspaper VNExpress reported that not a single operator applied for the pilot license.

This is largely due to the fact that, for operators, the concept of accepting bets on a few tournaments that take place once every four years does not add up to a great prospect for a profitable business venture. Even though these might be the events that receive the most wagers in Vietnam and the rest of the world, operators are keen to take wagers at any time of the year.

READ: BettingPlanet’s soccer betting guide

While the expansion of the country’s casino business continues to lead in legislative negotiations, there has been some movement toward making sports betting legal.

Pham Van Hoa, a member of the National Assembly in Vietnam, is of the opinion that it is time for the nation to investigate the possibility of legalizing sports betting. Even if there were no other benefits, such as financial opportunities, it would help minimize the amount of illegal betting activity.

Hoa raised the issue during a recent meeting with Vietnam’s Minister of Public Security, To Lam. He made a point of underlining how pervasive gambling online has become and how the absence of rules is having an effect on society.

As a consequence of this, according to Hoa, the only viable solution to the issue is to make the practice lawful. This will make it possible for policies to be created that safeguard consumers while still contributing tax income to the state treasury. In addition, Hoa believes that this is the appropriate time to initiate regulated online sports betting in a supervised setting.

Vietnam casino expansion in the works

In a bid to expand the region’s casino market, the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam has decided on two potential sites for casinos that would cater solely to the needs of international gamblers. The first location would be in the city of Da Nang, and the second location would be in the province of Khanh Hoa.

Both of these cities are located on the eastern coast of the country, which faces the South China Sea. As a result of this, the Ministry of Finance believes that they have a great deal of appeal to visitors from other countries and that they are perfect locations to draw in consistent traffic flow.

If the projects are approved by the government, the entertainment and resort complex known as Sun World Ba Na Hills in the city of Da Nang will be expanded to include a casino. Similarly, the resort on Hon Tre Island in Khanh Hoa would have a casino in its facility.

In 2018, Nguyen Xuan Phc, who was the prime minister of Vietnam at the time and is now the president of the country, gave his approval to a law that would allow a horse racetrack to be built in Hanoi. Although there was a positive response to it, the course has not yet been developed.

Despite this, the general consensus is shifting. It is probable that a decree authorizing sports betting will happen soon as it is garnering more interest.

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