A recent rush to get licenses for number of casino projects around the country may make gambling activities difficult to control.

Nguyen Mai, Former Deputy Head of the State Committee for Cooperation and Investment, said, tourist resorts should be able to have casinos, but they must be managed well, like are in Singapore. Taxes must be imposed on gambling, in order to contribute to state revenues.

He thinks it’s a mistake to allow large casinos to be licensed in many different locations around Vietnam. He said that, “No country else allows that to happen, as we have in Vietnam. If these casinos benefit only the localities, it could be very dangerous.”

He supported the plan to open a casino project on Phu Quoc Island, saying that only more affluent visitors would be able to afford to play there.

In a recent visit to Vietnam, Michael A. Leven, Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp, said that casino projects should be concentrated in one place, like Las Vegas or Macau.

“Having them scattered around is inefficient for tourism, and makes them harder to manage,” he said. The majority of revenues of Las Vegas and Macau, he says, are from foreign tourists.

Currently, Vietnam has no legal framework for casino operation management.

Vietnam has licensed a series of huge tourist projects that include casinos, including New City, worth USD4.3 billion in Phu Yen Province, Silver Shores Hoang Dat (USD160 million) in Danang, Nam Hoi An (USD4 billion) in Quang Nam Province and Hoang Dong Lang Son (USD2 billion).

Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province has two projects of its kind namely Ho Tram Strip (USD4.2 billion) and Saigon Atlantic (USD4.1 billion).

Bai Bien Rong (Dragon Beach) is a tourist resort project in Quang Nam Province that has had its investment license revoked due to the investors’ failure to meet their commitments.