The Vietnam government will suspend a three-year pilot programme to test the efficacy of locals gaming. Tomorrow (31 December) is the last day Vietnamese nationals can gamble at the Casino in Phu Quoc.
Corona Resort & Casino in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, which launched the trial in 2019, announced the suspension on its website. It expressed “deepest gratitude” to its customers, and took pride in being “the first enterprise authorized to pilot Vietnamese citizens playing at a casino”.
Starting at midnight 31 December, Vietnamese gamblers will no longer be eligible to play inside the casino. The notice suggested this is a temporary suspension “until further notice … regarding the termination or continuation of this pilot program”.
The suspension has no impact on international customers and Vietnamese nationals who hold foreign passports.
Pilot interrupted by Covid
In 2016, the Politburo approved the locals trial for casinos on two islands: Phu Quoc, in Kien Giang Province off the southern coast, and Van Don, part of the Bai Tu Long archipelago in the northeast.
The Corona resort opened in January 2019. A project of Phu Quoc Tourism Investment and Development JSC, it represented an initial investment of VND50 trillion (£1.7 billion/€2 billion/$2.15 billion).
Van Don is still on the drawing board. That makes Corona the only casino in Vietnam where locals can gamble under certain conditions. They must demonstrate a minimum monthly income of VND10 million. They also must pay entry fees of VND1 million per day or VND25 million per month.
The three-year trial was originally slated to end in 2022. But the Ministry of Finance requested an extension due to Covid-19 disruptions, which skewed results.
Tourism could swing revenues
Phu Quoc is projected to welcome 6 million tourists this year. That’s a 49% increase over 2019, according to the Kien Giang Department of Tourism. The holiday paradise known as Pearl Island has seen a marked rise in foreign visitation—almost 1 million this year, compared to 671,000 in 2019.
But so far, those numbers haven’t translated to success for Corona Resort and Casino. According to Vietnam Biz, despite a boost in overall revenue, the operator posted a loss of more than VND300 billion in the first half of 2024. Analysts cited depreciation, high interest payments and an exodus of players starting in 2023, when Covid restrictions were lifted.
However, the pendulum could swing back in the new year. According to the Saigon Times, Phu Quoc benefits from favorable visa policies, affordable entertainment and convenient transportation, plus natural splendors. In November, Travel+Leisure magazine called the island one of 25 best travel destinations for 2025. Ditto for Condé Nast Traveler. The US travel monthly ranked Phu Quoc second among the 10 best islands in Asia, after Koh Samui in Thailand.
According to the Tuoi Tre News, moreover, Phu Quoc now has 274 tourism projects in the pipeline, worth a combined VND388.41 trillion. Clearly, the island’s sole casino operator is hopeful it may soon welcome locals once again. It pledged to maintain “all benefits for Vietnamese customers” and notify them if and when the suspension ends.
“Corona Resort & Casino Phu Quoc firmly believes that, with proper adjustments, we will soon resume operations to serve our valued customers and partners, building meaningful values in the future”, the web statment concluded.
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