There is no denying that casino gambling is one of the most lucrative industries in the world – and, many countries want to cash in. Recently, several Asian nations that has very stringent restrictions on gambling have decided to lighten up their laws to give operators and residents more freedom in the marketing. This week, the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance drafted a new law that would allow local residents to enter casinos.

Currently, the only people that are allowed to enter casinos in Vietnam are tourists. They must hold foreign passports in order to be permitted on the premises of these venues. While the idea was to prevent residents from possibly becoming addicted to gambling, the laws have simply pushed locals away to other markets.

“It is a matter of fact that Vietnamese citizens are already flocking to casinos in other countries,” says Nguyen Van Hien, Chairman of the NA Justice Committee. Under the proposed law, residents over the age of 21 will be allowed to gamble at casinos in Vietnam. However, they will have to submit to a background and financial check before they are able to wager on casino games.

Another Asian country that is revamping its gambling laws is South Korea. Previously, the country has had quite strict regulations with regards to casino gambling and integrated resorts. Now, the government is seeing the immense value of these markets, as they bring in generous revenue and tourism.

“Asian nations such as Macau and Singapore are competitively building global resort complexes to attract foreign tourists, but South Korea has fallen behind in building world-class casinos,” reads a report from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. South Korea will ease its gaming laws to allow for the construction of integrated resorts. These new venues will be permitted to have gaming facilities so that visitors can play casino games.

The changes to gaming regulations in Vietnam and South Korea are likely to have an impact on the Australian gambling market. This is because the Australian casinos aim to attract high roller players from Asia. So, it will be interesting to see if the loosening of Asian gambling laws will discourage Asian players from continuing to visit Australian casinos.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.