Hanoi (VNA)- Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has signed a decree allowing Vietnamese togamble at casinos in Vietnam. It will come into effect on March 15.

The decree, titled03/2017/NĐ-CP, allows foreigners and overseas Vietnamese situated abroad with avalid foreign passport to gamble in casinos in Vietnam.

Vietnamese citizens cannow also be admitted into domestic casinos, on a three year trial basis. Afterwhich, the government will decide whether or not to continue allowing domesticcitizens to participate in casino gambling.

All players must havefull capacity for civil acts of individuals according to Vietnamese law and bewilling to accept the terms and conditions of the games and the casino’sregulations.

Vietnamese citizensadmitted into casinos must be 21 years old or above with full capacity forcivil acts of individuals according to Vietnamese law, have proof of regularmonthly income of 10 million VND (450 USD) or be subjected to third degreetaxation according to the law on individual income tax. The Ministry of Financeis responsible for providing citizens application forms for these conditions.

Only enterprises with a Certification ofBusiness will have the legal right to run a casino. The business must be aconditioned commercial act that is closely inspected by the appropriategovernment authority to ensure operations follow the decree’s regulations andother legal procedures, the decree dictates.

Players must buy ticketsto the casino at 1 million VND (45 USD) for 24 hours entry and 25 million VND (1,126)per person monthly. Players must not be related to casino owners in any way.

Vietnamese players atcasinos must exchange VND for tokens and vice versa.

Vietnamese citizens whoviolated national security or committed other crimes abroad resulting in morethan three years of imprisonment will not be admitted to casinos. This includesthose serving jail time, with or without bail, or any other form oflegal punishment.

The decree did notrestrict the amount of capital for business owners, but differentiated betweenlarge casinos (of more than 2 billion USD) and small casinos (less than 2billion USD in capital).

The decree states that the casino business mustbe linked to the entrepreneur’s key commercial operations to help boosttourism, trade, diversify entertainment and recreation and enrich tourists’experience, while assuring security and nation defence, social order and moralhealth.

The operation of and participation in gamblinggames must be transparent, coherent and honest, to protect the rights and legalbenefits of parties involved.

The decree bans gambling between players onresults of games at casinos; cheating during preparation, organisation orparticipation in the casinos; any action that affects security and order incasinos and using gambling machines, tables, tokens and other devices withcontent not approved by the government.

The decree also forbids the casino businessesfrom providing illegal gambling online or telecommunication networks, from smugglingand transferring foreign currency, precious gems and metals and other acts ofmoney laundering, sponsoring terrorism and prostitution and paying out thewrong amount of prize money, among others.

Organisations and individuals linked to thegames’ operations must comply with the decree in its entirety and other legalrequirements.-VNA