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A sure bet
The stakes are high and Vietnam should not lose out to other nations in developing casinos, some argue.
Casinos should be seen as a way to attract more tourists and as a business to be developed further in Vietnam, businessmen and officials said at a seminar last week.
They said Vietnam runs the risk of being left behind regional countries if it continued to neglect the business and the “loss” of foreign currency as Vietnamese gamblers went abroad to indulge their habit.
“Casino is a service of the tourism industry which has been developed in many countries,” said chairman of Ninh Thuan Province’s People Committee Nguyen Chi Dung.
“We should change our mindset that casinos and gambling are not good for the country,” he added.
Dung said that without a development strategy, Vietnam would be a late player in the race, as many regional countries have boosted their tourism sector through the casino business.
The chairman suggested casinos should be developed on modern models, combined with resort complexes located near busy areas or on islands.
Dung also said the government should allow Vietnamese gamblers to play in casinos in the country. Many Vietnamese tourists crossed the Cambodian border and spent their money there, he said.
Nguyen Ngoc My, chief executive officer of Vabis Group, said Vietnam was losing opportunities as regional countries like Thailand, Cambodia and Singapore have developed more casinos and attracted international gamblers and tourists, including Vietnamese.
“It has led to an outflow of foreign currency with Vietnamese gamblers traveling abroad,” said My.
The Vabis Group was the first business to be licensed to operate gambling services and horse and dog racing activities in 2000. However these kinds of business were difficult to develop in the country as it lacked the legal framework needed, said My, a Vietnamese American. The government issued a decree on gambling and game businesses in 2003 but implementation guidelines are still absent.
The government granted the first casino license to Hong Kong-based United International Business Investment 15 years ago to develop the Do Son Casino in Hai Phong City. The second casino license was granted to Canada-based Asian Coast Development to develop the US$4.2 billion Ho Tram Resort & Spa Project last year in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. Big hotels have been allowed to run e-gambling services for international tourists.
The government only approves casino projects with investment capital of over $4 billion, according to Dung.
Tang Phu Bao, General Director of Do Son Casino, said it was facing tough times as Chinese arrivals had fallen sharply this year.
The casino, which has a hotel with eighty-eight rooms to serve
gamblers, mainly targets Chinese players, as it is located close to the Chinese border. Bao said its revenues have declined by 70 percent over the past year as Chinese arrivals dropped to around 300 from 3,000.
Very few customers from other countries came to Vietnam to gamble, according to Bao. He said the casino struggled to seek new arrivals even after it launched a service to carry customers by air twice a day from other markets to Do Son.
“It is really hard to run a casino, especially big casino projects with over $4 billion in investment capital,” Bao said.
Bui Ngoc Suong, Chairman of Kien Giang Province’s People Committee, said the southernmost province planned to develop its casino industry on Phu Quoc Island. The province has sent people to Las Vegas and Singapore to study casino models.
Other provinces in Vietnam have also announced plans to develop the business to boost tourism.
Ha Manh Dung, Chairman of investment firm GIICO Corporation, said Vietnam’s tourist industry would be in a better position to compete against other tourist destinations if casinos are developed and managed properly by the government.
Minh Quang
thanhnien
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