Casino operators have criticized a proposal by authorities to double monthly casino entry prices to VND50 million (US$1,900), with one suggesting that should be made the yearly ticket cost.
The Ministry of Finance is seeking opinions on a plan to increase the ticket prices, which also seeks to hike one-day ticket prices 2.5 times to VND2.5 million. There is no yearly tickets sold now.
Ho Tram Project Company, which runs the Ho Tram Casino in HCMC, wants yearly tickets introduced at VND50 million and other rates kept unchanged.
That would work out to around VND4.2 million a month, or 16.8% of the current VND25 million.
The firm says this is similar to prices in Singapore, where entry costs VND3 million for 24 hours and VND60 million for a year.
The operator of the Corona Casino on Phu Quoc Island wants the one-day price fixed at VND1.5 million and the monthly ticket at VND35 million, 30-40% lower than the new rates proposed.
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Ho Tram Casino in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo courtesy of the casino |
But the ministry has rejected both suggestions, insisting that higher prices are necessary to discourage people without sufficient finances from gambling.
The Ministry of Justice said earlier that entry prices are not an appropriate way to gauge players’ finances.
Vietnamese are allowed to enter three casinos, the other being Van Don Casino in the China-bordering province of Quang Ninh, since last month.
There are six other casinos in Vietnam but they are only open to foreigners, as the government continues to maintain tight control over gambling.
The Phu Quoc casino was the first to allow locals under a pilot program launched in 2016. Operated by a Vingroup subsidiary, it has 1,470 slot machines and 147 gaming tables.
Vietnamese have accounted for 52% of its customers and 88% of its revenues in the last five years. But the numbers have been declining after the Covid-19 pandemic, with the share of local customers falling to just 12% last year.
