Is Online Gambling Legal in Vietnam?
No. Vietnam licenses no online casinos, and gambling outside the permitted forms is an offence. Under Article 321 of the Criminal Code, gambling for money or property of VND 5 million to under VND 50 million is a crime, punished by a fine of VND 20 million to 100 million, up to three years of non-custodial reform, or six months to three years in prison. Smaller amounts become criminal for someone who has been penalised for gambling before; otherwise they draw an administrative fine.
Online play is treated more harshly. Clause 2 of Article 321 raises the penalty to three to seven years in prison where the gambling uses the internet, computer or telecommunication networks or other electronic means, where the stakes reach VND 50 million or more, or where the gambling is professional, with a possible extra fine of VND 10 million to 50 million.
Agent Accounts and the World Cup Crackdown
Police target the networks behind online betting. In late June 2026, during the football World Cup, Ho Chi Minh City police arrested 85 people in two rings that had handled about US$133 million in illegal transactions since October 2025. The ringleaders received master betting accounts from people in Cambodia, split them into agent and member accounts and handed them to gamblers. Nationwide, the Ministry of Public Security reported 73 gambling operations dismantled in the tournament’s first 20 days.
Which Casinos Can Vietnamese Enter?
Most casinos in Vietnam are closed to Vietnamese citizens. Resolution No. 307/2025/NQ-CP, issued on 26 November 2025, gave Corona Resort & Casino on Phu Quoc permanent permission to admit eligible Vietnamese players after a trial period. The same resolution opened a five-year pilot at The Grand Ho Tram and a five-year pilot for the Van Don resort in Quang Ninh, which is still being built.
The entry rules come from Decree 03/2017. A Vietnamese player must be at least 21, have full civil capacity, earn a stable income of at least VND 10 million a month or pay income tax at grade 3 or above, and must not have a written objection from a parent, spouse or sibling. Entry costs VND 1 million for 24 hours or VND 25 million for a month.
Vietlott and Football Betting
Vietlott, the state lottery company, is the main legal way to gamble in Vietnam, and its tickets can also be bought through authorised apps, including bank and e-wallet apps. Since June 2026 Google allows ads in Vietnam only for Vietlott’s authorised online lottery agents. Legal football betting does not exist yet: in September 2025 the Finance Ministry proposed a five-year pilot for a single operator, limited to international matches organised by FIFA and its member bodies, with players aged 21 and over betting through verified accounts.
What a Foreign Licence Means for Vietnamese Players
Each casino on this page is licensed by a regulator outside Vietnam, and that licence sets the rules on identity checks, withdrawals and complaints. No Vietnamese authority supervises these sites, so the licence on the card is the only safeguard, which is the key difference from an agent-run account. Our casino licence guide looks at the regulators that appear most often. Some casinos name Vietnam in their restricted-country terms, and signing up from a country on that list puts any winnings at risk at withdrawal.
Bonuses in Dong
Welcome offers on the cards are in euros, so their value in dong moves with the exchange rate. A VND 10 million bonus with a 35x rollover needs VND 350 million in bets before it can be withdrawn, and live tables such as baccarat often count for little or nothing towards it. Some casinos take Vietnamese players but exclude Vietnam from promotions, so a card can show no offer. Payment methods are listed on each card and compared in our casino payment methods guide.
Tax on Winnings From 1 July 2026
Vietnam’s new Personal Income Tax Law took effect on 1 July 2026 and doubled the tax-free threshold for prize winnings from VND 10 million to VND 20 million. Winnings above that are taxed at 10% on the part over the threshold, collected when the prize is paid. For online casino play, which is illegal, the criminal law matters far more than tax. Other countries’ rules are compared in do you pay tax on casino winnings?
Staying in Control
Vietnam has no national self-exclusion register for online gambling. At an international casino, set deposit caps, a cooling-off period or self-exclusion in the account before the first deposit, and talk to a doctor or counsellor if gambling or gambling debts are causing harm. Elsewhere in the region, Thailand also bans online gambling while the Philippines licenses it; see online casinos in Thailand and online casinos in the Philippines.
