Sports betting’s roll of the dice

An official from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) which is drafting a decree on sports-related betting services, said preliminary estimates put annual earnings from sports-related betting at no less than $2 billion in Vietnam, prompting the government to think of legalising this activity or face foreign currency drainage out of the country.

“In the first step, betting on dog and horse races and international football games will become legalised. However, line ministries in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Security will tighten monitoring betting operations by strictly controlling licences and betting frequencies given to service providers,” said the official.

Following the first draft decree, Vietnam will possibly allow only a new horse racetrack to be established in the north, while an existing dog racetrack and a horse racetrack in the south would have to re-work their operations to satisfy the proposed regulations. The new horse racetrack, whose licence is awaiting prime ministerial approval, will have investment capital of at least VND1.5 trillion ($89.3 million). Investors behind the new track also need to deliver pledges of developing other sports and recreational facilities for local residents.

Meanwhile, in accordance to the draft decree, a dog racetrack currently operating in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province and an operational horse racetrack in Ho Chi Minh City will allowed to provide betting services if they drum up at least VND100 billion ($5.95 million) in legal capital. The licence will be valid until 2010 while the dog track will run until 2023.

The MoF reported that besides the two operational tracks, a licence already grnated to the Sing-Viet joint venture, which aims to building a $120 million horse racetrack in Ho Chi Minh City is now still valid.
However, the project has been deadlocked since it received an investment licence in 1999 because of the local partner’s withdrawal and land clearance difficulties. The licence is now on the verge of being scratched if the investors can not immediately get the project off the ground.

The new restrictions pertain to not only put on the number of licences granted but also the areas where betting will be allowed. “Betting is allowed inside the tracks and some outside sale offices built within the cities and provinces where the tracks are located,” said the draft decree.

The draft decree should have been submitted for prime ministerial approval in the second quarter of this year, but the MoF’s prudence over betting services delayed the submission at least until the end of this year after the ministry collected recommendations from governmental agencies.

The MoF official said that the draft decree also proposed to establish a wholly state-run company to provide football games betting services, with foreign firms to be able to provide technical cooperation.