Vietnam's licensed gambling market is about to face stricter regulation. According to a draft decree submitted to the government, players involved in betting on football, horse racing, and other sports may no longer be able to "remain anonymous". This initiative, driven by the Ministry of Justice, aims to comprehensively strengthen identity verification, while the Ministry of Finance has resisted pressure to increase betting limits, demonstrating the government's cautious balance between market liberalization and risk control.
Bettors must "verify their identity", information fully transparent
According to the draft, players who want to bet on licensed platforms must provide a complete set of personal information at registration, including full name, nationality, occupation, phone number, and address. This is not an overreaction, as the Ministry of Justice explicitly states that this is to strictly implement Vietnam's 2022 Anti-Money Laundering Law. Simply put, it is to ensure that every betting fund can be traced back to a specific person, eliminating regulatory blind spots. This means that the "anonymous era" of Vietnam's licensed gambling is coming to an end, and the government will conduct closer monitoring of participants and the flow of funds. For more information on global regulatory trends, please follow the PASA official website.
The debate over daily betting limits: Ministry of Science and Technology suggests an increase, Ministry of Finance has the final say
Although identity transparency has become a consensus, there is disagreement among ministries on the issue of "how much one can bet". The Ministry of Science and Technology once proposed to significantly increase the personal daily betting limit to 10 billion Vietnamese dong (about $38,000), or set a limit of 1 billion Vietnamese dong (about $380) for each betting product. Their reasoning is that higher limits would help licensed operators attract "big players" and better compete with the underground black market.
However, the Ministry of Finance decisively rejected this proposal. They have their calculations: with an average annual income of about $5,000 for Vietnamese, setting too high a betting limit could exacerbate the risk of excessive gambling, bringing negative social impacts. Therefore, the draft maintains the existing regulation, that is, the daily betting limit per person at a single licensed operator is 10 million Vietnamese dong (about $380). The Ministry of Finance believes that this threshold is more in line with the national income level and helps protect social order and safety.
Expansion of football events, pilot launch of international betting
To enhance the attractiveness of the licensed gambling market, the draft also responds to criticisms of too few legal betting events. The new regulations will significantly expand the range of football events allowed for betting, including not only FIFA events but also major events organized by UEFA, AFC, CONMEBOL, etc. Additionally, national leagues and cup competitions ranked in the top 10 by FIFA as of last December, such as the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, etc., are also included in the legal scope.
However, for high-risk international football gambling, the authorities have decided to adopt a "small steps, quick pace" strategy. The draft plans a pilot project, allowing no more than three licensed companies to operate this type of business. Moreover, the power to select pilot operators does not lie in the usual open bidding but is directly attributed to the Prime Minister, which shows the government's emphasis on the money laundering risks in this area.
In summary, Vietnam's proposed new regulations outline a direction: stricter identity checks, unchanged betting limits, and cautious market opening. How this combination of measures finds the best balance between controlling risks and meeting market demands is worth continuous observation.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leader", a gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
