Starting in mid-March, eligible Vietnamese citizens will be allowed to gamble in local casinos.
As part of a three-year pilot program, the Vietnamese government announced last Friday the passage of a decree permitting legal gambling for select Vietnamese citizens, reports VnExpress. Vietnamese nationals who are over 21 years old and earn a monthly income of at least VND10 million will be able to enter the country’s casinos alongside foreign citizens.
While investors are undoubtedly happy to hear the news, critics were cautious about the announcement, warning that proper regulations would be a must in order for the program to succeed.
For the moment, however, officials are optimistic that legalized gambling will not only bring in more revenue for the government but also attract more tourists to the country, a move which would help Vietnam’s bid to rake in US$35 billion in tourism revenue by 2020. Authorities are currently focusing on two specific casino projects: one on Phu Quoc Island and the other in the Van Don Special Economic Zone near the Chinese border.
However, others worry that Phu Quoc in particular is not ready to handle such an influx of tourists, whether for gambling or other purposes, given the fact that the island’s current infrastructure lags behind its development as a tourism destination.
Adding to this concern are issues related to the environment, as heavy tourism has put great pressure upon not only Phu Quoc’s infrastructure resources but also its surrounding natural environment.
“Vietnam seems to have this deep insecurity that its natural beauty and scenic landscapes are not enough,” Assistant Professor Pamela McElwee, who teaches human ecology at Rutgers University and has researched Vietnam’s protected lands, told VnExpress.
“They must be ‘improved’ with cable cars, casinos or loud karaoke.”
[Photo via Flickr user Tiago Daniel]
