Vietnam opens a second casino to local players as The Grand Ho Tram joins the pilot
Eligible Vietnamese citizens have been able to gamble at The Grand Ho Tram since 5 January 2026, making it the second casino in the country open to locals after Corona on Phu Quoc. Central government approval came on 26 November 2025 in a letter signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc, granting Ho Tram a five-year pilot, extending the same five years to the planned Van Don resort once it opens, and converting Corona's arrangement into permanent authorisation. Ho Tram's mass gaming floor now takes only Vietnamese dong, where US dollars had been widely used before.
For most of the history of legal casino gaming in Vietnam the rule has been simple: the casinos are for foreigners. Nine licensed houses operate, from Do Son near Hai Phong, open since 1995, to the integrated resorts at Ho Tram and Hoiana, and with one exception their floors have been closed to Vietnamese passport holders.
That exception was Corona Resort & Casino on Phu Quoc, which admitted eligible locals from 2019 under a time-limited exemption. It is also, not coincidentally, the only Vietnamese venue hosting large live poker festivals — the Vietnam Poker Tour's Championship III in May 2026 ran ninety events under a 66 billion dong guarantee there.
What changed
On 26 November 2025 the central government approved local access for three projects at once. The Grand Ho Tram in Ba Ria-Vung Tau received a five-year pilot effective from that date; the yet-to-be-built Van Don integrated resort in Quang Ninh was granted the same five years for when it opens; and Corona's earlier exemption, which had expired at the start of 2025, was replaced with permanent locals status. Inside Asian Gaming reported the approval as an official letter signed by Ho Duc Phoc, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
Ho Tram's floor opened to eligible citizens on 5 January 2026.
What "eligible" means
The conditions were set out in Decree 03/2017/ND-CP, signed on 16 January 2017 and in force from 15 March that year. Under its Article 12, a Vietnamese citizen playing in a casino must be at least 21, have full civil capacity, and show proof of current income of at least 10 million dong a month. Entry is ticketed at 1 million dong per 24 continuous hours or 25 million dong a month. The decree also requires that a Vietnamese citizen exchange only dong for chips, which explains the currency switch on the Ho Tram mass floor. Family members with full civil capacity — parents, adoptive parents, a spouse or children — can ask a casino to refuse a relative entry.
What it does not change
The pilot is about who may enter a licensed casino. It is not a liberalisation of poker as such: Vietnam's live tournament calendar remains thin and has been unreliable in the capital, where three international series were cancelled between December 2023 and May 2024, one of them reportedly on the order of the chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee. Online play is not covered at all.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
Read the original at Inside Asian Gaming →
Frequently asked questions
Which Vietnamese casinos can admit local citizens?
Corona Resort & Casino on Phu Quoc, which holds permanent authorisation, and The Grand Ho Tram, on a five-year pilot from 26 November 2025. The planned Van Don resort has the same five-year permission for when it opens.
What must a Vietnamese citizen show to enter a casino?
Under Article 12 of Decree 03/2017/ND-CP: an age of at least 21, full civil capacity, and proof of current income of at least 10 million dong a month. Entry is ticketed at 1 million dong per 24 hours or 25 million dong a month.
Does this make online poker legal in Vietnam?
No. The pilot concerns entry to licensed land-based casinos only and says nothing about online play.