Vietnam football betting to get a leg up with amended law, decree

Recent Bidding Law amendments and a decree that guides their implementation are likely to boost the football betting business in Vietnam, says a new government report.

The report on the new legal framework, set to be submitted to the National Assembly session next Monday by Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc, recognizes that betting on football, horse racing and greyhound racing, gambling at casinos or playing electronic games for prize money are an inevitable development trend in the entertainment industry.

This can be tapped to bring billions of U.S. dollars to the state budget each year, it adds.

However, since it is a field that affects social security, it requires strict control by relevant agencies, the report says.

It notes that one form of gambling, lottery, has been permitted in Vietnam since 1962, bringing in large annual budget revenues.

Currently, the country has 63 lottery companies in as many provinces and cities engaging in traditional lottery business and one offering computerized lottery service - Vietnam Computerized Lottery One Member Limited Liability Company, or Vietlott.

In 2023, this activity netted revenues of VND153 trillion ($6.2 billion), up 11% year-on-year; and contributed VND45 trillion ($1.82 billion) to the budget.

At present, Vietnamese citizens are banned from playing prize-winning electronic games, which are only allowed at 5-star hotels with qualified facilities. The business must have a minimum charter capital of VND500 billion ($20.26 million) and effective business operations to provide this service.

Nearly 70 establishments have engaged in the business across the country, contributing nearly VND2.2 trillion ($89.16 million) to the state budget in 2023, up 26.5% year-on-year.

Since Decree No. 03 was issued in 2017, the casino sector has seen nine active projects - six small- and three large-scale. In 2023, they paid VND2.54 trillion ($102.94 million) to the state budget, up 56% year-on-year and 1.8 times the pre-pandemic level, while creating 8,500 jobs.

Vietnam has piloted allowing Vietnamese people to play casino games on Phu Quoc island in Kien Giang province and Van Don casino in Quang Ninh province. Ticket revenues in the 2019-2023 period totalled VND242 billion ($9.8 million).

However, no significant progress has been seen in the business of betting on horse racing, greyhound racing and international football since Decree No. 06 was issued in 2017.

Decree 06 allows betting on horse racing, greyhound racing and international football but prohibits online betting. It also sets out conditions for granting betting investment and business licenses.

Specifically, businesses are only allowed to offer bets on greyhound and horse races with projects that have a minimum capital of VND300 billion ($12.16 million) and VND1 trillion ($40.53 million), respectively. Each project must get in-principle approval by the Prime Minister on the basis of appraisal by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The Ministry of Finance will coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to issue betting business licenses when businesses have completed building racetracks and prepared all needed facilities.

The Finance Minister’s report says that since 2017, seven provinces and cities have proposed the Prime Minister give in-principle approvals to horse and greyhound racing betting business projects. The PM has approved a horse racing project in Hanoi’s Soc Son district, but this has not been deployed due to problems regarding its capital contribution mechanism. Therefore, up to now, no business has been licensed to conduct betting on horse and greyhound races.

Before Decree 06, one enterprise had piloted betting on greyhound racing at a racetrack in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau since 1999. However, the project expired and it closed in March 2023.

Decree 06 allows one enterprise to pilot the business of betting on international football games for five years. The finance ministry has to coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to organize the bidding process to select the enterprise. The selected business must have a minimum capital of VND1 trillion ($40.53 million) and make business plans in accordance with legal regulations.

However, because it contradicted provisions of the 2013 Bidding Law, which does not allow bidding on betting business projects, between 2017 and 2022, the finance ministry and relevant ministries and agencies proposed five times that a draft decree was formulated to replace Decree No. 06.

In 2023, the National Assembly issued the amended Bidding Law, which adds regulations on bidding to select investors for betting projects. On February 27, the government issued a draft decree on the bidding process and procedures for selecting investors to carry out betting business investments. The finance ministry is collecting feedback on this decree from other ministries and agencies.