Vietnamese operators question government proposals

A proposed raise in the daily individual betting cap for players in Vietnam is considered not far enough by operators in the country.

A recent draft decree detailing changes to how the country's gambling industry works proposed lifting of the cap from VND1m ($37.97) to VND10m.

This would apply to horseracing and international football and is thought to be a positive step according to operators, but through the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), enterprises and investors have made a counter proposal.

They would rather see the cap raised to VND100m, or at the least, VND10m per product category.

The VCCI says that, while VND10m is an improvement and does what it sets out do in reflecting the rise in average per capita income, it does not do enough to make legal operators in the country competitive with illegal ones who do not adhere to limits in any case.

If the proposed draft decree was signed into law, the VCCI believes that players on illegal platforms with incentives to gamble lots of money will be put off by the restrictive limits on legal sites, and therefore, less money will be going to the Government via tax.

Other suggestions from the VCCI include moving the start date for the trial period of a new system for international football betting.

Last month, the Ministry of Finance said it would allow a single company to operate international football betting under a tightly controlled five-year pilot programme, according to local reports.

The VCCI has shared its fears with the Government that the selected company will not have the requisite time to evaluate its model over those five years if that period includes the time it takes to set up and prepare the launch.

Finally, the draft decree has proposed a mandatory minimum contribution to Government budgets of 10% of GGR.

This is considered excessive by the VCCI, which has explained that in tandem with other pre-existing tax obligations, the move will seriously hamstring the legal gambling market - it suggests that a 5% contribution would be more acceptable.