Members of the National Assembly's Standing Committee debated a draft decree on electronic gambling for foreigners during their on-going meeting in Hanoi on October 8.
NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said electronic gambling services were fairly new to Vietnam so the decree must ensure strict management of the industry.
Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue said this business, approved 20 years ago, aimed at offering more entertainment activities for foreigners and encouraging more foreign investment in the country.
So far, 43 establishments including three-or-more star hotels and tourist agencies with jackpot machines and slot machines had opened, mainly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
He said the revenue from electronic gambling reached 5 trillion VND (238 million USD) last year and each establishment earned an average of 20 billion VND (952,000 USD) from this business.
However, Hue emphasised the necessity of a new decree because some current regulations on licensing conditions were no longer suitable with the ongoing social-economic situation and newly approved laws such as the Investment Law or Enterprise Law.
Moreover, the lack of specific regulations on licensing and state management as well as punishment levels has led some establishments to allow Vietnamese to use the machines. This led to the Prime Minister's decision in 2007 to temporarily stop granting new licences to operate such games, the Minister said.
Most members of the Standing Committee supported the issuance of the new decree, which stipulates that the games are only for foreigners and licences can only be granted to hotels ranked with over five stars by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which signifies that the hotels meet security conditions and do not lack financial resources.
Locations, operation time, machine conditions, foreign currencies, rights and responsibilities of gamers and investors are also included in the decree. The Ministry of Finance and other relevant sectors and localities are responsible for inspecting the licensed facilities and punishing violators.
Members of the committee also suggested shortening the license duration to five years from 10 years as drafted in the decree but raise the number of regular and random inspections to strictly monitor the operation of these establishments.
Lawmakers also focus their attention on security conditions and punishment methods for violators because according to them, this field should be more strictly managed to avoid unnecessary disputes or illegal activities.
Some suggested that these establishments should be far from residential areas to avoid negative impacts on local people and the Ministry of Finance should be responsible for State management in this field.
The drafting board would review the decree and get opinions from experts and lawmakers to amend unsuitable regulations in the draft decree.-VNA
NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said electronic gambling services were fairly new to Vietnam so the decree must ensure strict management of the industry.
Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue said this business, approved 20 years ago, aimed at offering more entertainment activities for foreigners and encouraging more foreign investment in the country.
So far, 43 establishments including three-or-more star hotels and tourist agencies with jackpot machines and slot machines had opened, mainly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
He said the revenue from electronic gambling reached 5 trillion VND (238 million USD) last year and each establishment earned an average of 20 billion VND (952,000 USD) from this business.
However, Hue emphasised the necessity of a new decree because some current regulations on licensing conditions were no longer suitable with the ongoing social-economic situation and newly approved laws such as the Investment Law or Enterprise Law.
Moreover, the lack of specific regulations on licensing and state management as well as punishment levels has led some establishments to allow Vietnamese to use the machines. This led to the Prime Minister's decision in 2007 to temporarily stop granting new licences to operate such games, the Minister said.
Most members of the Standing Committee supported the issuance of the new decree, which stipulates that the games are only for foreigners and licences can only be granted to hotels ranked with over five stars by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which signifies that the hotels meet security conditions and do not lack financial resources.
Locations, operation time, machine conditions, foreign currencies, rights and responsibilities of gamers and investors are also included in the decree. The Ministry of Finance and other relevant sectors and localities are responsible for inspecting the licensed facilities and punishing violators.
Members of the committee also suggested shortening the license duration to five years from 10 years as drafted in the decree but raise the number of regular and random inspections to strictly monitor the operation of these establishments.
Lawmakers also focus their attention on security conditions and punishment methods for violators because according to them, this field should be more strictly managed to avoid unnecessary disputes or illegal activities.
Some suggested that these establishments should be far from residential areas to avoid negative impacts on local people and the Ministry of Finance should be responsible for State management in this field.
The drafting board would review the decree and get opinions from experts and lawmakers to amend unsuitable regulations in the draft decree.-VNA
