Even though casino operators in Vietnam are trying to persuade the government to allow Vietnamese people to use their services, their biggest bets have been placed on attracting Chinese customers.
A casino in Cambodia According to casino owners, most of their revenues come from Chinese visitors and about 70% of gamblers at casinos in Haiphong are Chinese.
Ha Ton Vinh, CEO of Stellar Management Corporation, which is specialises in executive management trainings, said, “Casinos in Vietnam potentially draw money from four groups of customers: Chinese visitors, other foreign visitors, foreigners living in Vietnam and if permitted, the locals.”
In competition with other gambling destinations such as Macao, Vietnam can still attract Chinese visitors. Not only is Vietnam located near China, Hongkong and Taiwan, most of the casinos will be built near the borders. Vinh went on to say that casino investors are attracted to Vietnam because of Asian people’s love for gambling.
During a meeting with NA Committee for Finance and State Budget, owner of Ho Tram Casino in Quang Nam Province, said they earned USD5.5 million and contributed USD2.8 million to the state after seven months of being open. They also earned USD7 million from their hotel complex.
This is the biggest and most profitable casino in Vietnam, with 90 gaming tables and 1,000 machines. The total investment for the complex was USD530 million, so investors still may incur losses if revenues do not pick up.
However, it is said that USD5.5 million is just a starting point for such a big casino project which is only opened for foreign passport and the legal framework for running them is unclear. Moreover, local authorities and investors still do not have comprehensive strategies to promote casino projects and boost GDP.
David Whitehead, chairman of the Australian Business Society in Vietnam, said casinos must be placed inside an entertainment and hotel complex where visitors can easily bring their families along. Around 90% of profits in Macao comes from casinos, only 10% are from the entertainment complex. But without the complex, the proceeds from the casino might fall.
Many investors have also said that by building casinos, Vietnam can attract rich visitors to these regions, which may bring more investment.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
