INDOCHINA 24
vietnam
Luring in the locals Vietnam’s steadily expanding gaming industry is seen as having among the best potential in Asia, with a pilot scheme allowing locals to gamble for the first time expected to further spur investor interest.
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owards the end of 2018, the government gave the final nod for a three-year experiment that will allow Vietnamese into a casino resort on Phu Quoc island in the far south of the country. The casino will form part of a US$2.1 billion hotel and entertainment complex and opened its doors on January 19. The main investor is Phu Quoc Tourism Investment and Development Jsc, a company in which Vingroup, the country’s largest conglomerate, holds a 50 percent stake. In May 2017, Netherlands-based Upffinity Gaming Management signed an exclusive agreement to manage the casino at the Corona
Asia Gaming Briefings | Februay 2019
Integrated Resort, which includes a Radisson Blue hotel, a Vin Oasis hotel, a Safari and Amusement park, convention center, theater and shopping experience. The casino itself was designed by Steelman Partners and includes 18,800 square meters of gaming floor made up of 100 tables and 1000 electronic gaming machines, 3 restaurants, 2 specialty bars & lounges. Vietnam officially lifted its long-standing ban on gambling in 2017, allowing Vietnamese locals to gamble at approved local casinos through a trial program lasting three years. A second project in the far north of the country is also expected to be given approval for local gambling.
The $2 billion integrated resort planned for Quang Ninh province on Vietnam’s northern coast is expected to begin its first phase of construction in the first quarter of 2019 and be fully completed by 2022, according to local news reports. The Van Don project will cover 2,500 hectares and will have a 50-year license if it receives final approval, local media cited Nguyen Duc Long, chairman of the municipal People’s Committee in the province as saying. According to Long, the project is under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)’s consideration and he said he hoped the process would be concluded soon.
