ANTD.VN - The cumulative ticket revenue from Vietnamese people at Phu Quoc casino from 2019 to 2023 reached 242 billion VND, the total project is suffering an accumulated loss of 3,724 billion VND.
This is the information in the report of the Ministry of Finance sent to National Assembly delegates in preparation for the questioning session at the National Assembly Standing Committee on March 18, related to casino business activities.
Business recovery after the pandemic
Accordingly, the Ministry of Finance said that since Decree No. 03/2017/ND-CP was issued, the Prime Minister has approved the investment policy for 03 casino business projects approved by the Politburo at the request of the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Phu Quoc, Khanh Hoa and Thua Thien Hue provinces.
Up to now, there are 09 casino projects in operation, including 06 small-scale casinos and 03 large-scale casinos. In addition, there are currently 02 projects under construction according to the provisions of investment law, not yet put into casino business due to the impact of the Covid epidemic, so the implementation is slow, difficult in negotiating and selecting partners, and managing casino business.
In 2019 - 2021, revenue from casino business activities decreased due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, with no foreign visitors coming to play.
From 2022, foreign visitors will start to return. In 2023, the state budget contribution will be 2,541 billion VND, an increase of 56% compared to 2022, 1.8 times higher than before the Covid epidemic and has created about 8,500 jobs.
Regarding management, supervision and inspection, the Ministry of Finance said that, in addition to remote monitoring activities through reporting, the Ministry of Finance has coordinated with the Ministries of Public Security, Planning and Investment, Culture, Sports and Tourism, the State Bank of Vietnam, and People's Committees of provinces and cities to inspect casino business activities at 12 enterprises.
Accordingly, 05 decisions on penalties with a total amount of 980 million VND were issued; 04 provincial People's Committees organized inspections at 05 enterprises. In addition, the Ministry of Public Security also directed professional units and local police to conduct inspections to ensure social order and safety according to assigned functions and tasks, and localities have closely coordinated to manage and control well the subjects entering and leaving business locations and social order and safety in the area.
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There is a new casino project in Phu Quoc that is being piloted to allow Vietnamese people to play. |
Pilot casino allowing Vietnamese to play still losing money
Regarding the pilot program for Vietnamese people to play in casinos, the Ministry of Finance said: In 2016, the Politburo allowed a pilot program for Vietnamese people to play in casinos in Phu Quoc and Van Don, with a pilot period of 3 years.
However, currently, there is only one casino project in Phu Quoc that has been operational since January 2019.
After more than 2 years of piloting, the accumulated revenue from 2019 - 2023 of this casino reached 6,404 billion VND, contributing 3,679 billion VND to the state budget.
In 2023, casino business results improved compared to 2022, with revenue reaching VND 2,180 billion (up 45.7%), and payment to the state budget of VND 1,230 billion (up 68.9%). Ticket revenue (for Vietnamese people) in 2023 reached VND 32,225 billion, accumulated from 2019 to 2023 reached VND 242 billion.
Although the casino's business results are better than in 2022, the Ministry of Finance said that the overall project is suffering an accumulated loss of VND3,724 billion due to large depreciation costs and interest payments in the first phase.
Regarding the number of casino visitors, accumulated from 2019 to the end of 2023, Vietnamese people were 295,943 (accounting for 62% of total players), foreigners were 179,507 (accounting for 38% of total players).
In 2020 and 2021, the proportion of Vietnamese guests was higher due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic with no foreign guests. In 2023, Vietnamese guests decreased significantly (accounting for 39% of the total number of guests, equal to 87% compared to before the Covid epidemic). The age of Vietnamese guests at Phu Quoc casino is from 21 to 97 years old, the majority is 39 years old.
Through management and supervision, the Ministry of Finance said that the casino in Phu Quoc basically complied with the conditions for being granted a Business License and regulations on organizing casino business activities. At the same time, this casino also basically complied with the regulations and conditions on security and order to operate the casino as prescribed, and has not been handled for violations of the law on security and order during its operation.
Currently, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Finance is reporting to the Politburo for approval on the pilot program for Vietnamese people to continue playing casinos in a cautious manner, focusing only on Phu Quoc and Van Don, the two projects approved by the Politburo; the pilot program has not been expanded to other casino projects and some other contents on casino business activities to amend and supplement Decree No. 03/2017/ND-CP to complete the legal framework.
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