Vietnamese citizens are now, for the first time, able to gamble at the Southeast Asian country’s Grand Ho Tram casino resort under a pilot scheme that kicked off on 5 January, multiple media outlets report.
Grand Ho Tram, located in the southern coastal city of Vung Tau, follows the Corona Resort & Casino on Phu Quoc island in admitting locals. Officials granted both properties – along with still under-construction Van Don Casino, in Vietnam’s far north – approval to cater to Vietnamese in November 2025, in a move Asia Gaming Brief described as a “watershed moment for the nation’s gaming market.”
Up until then, Vietnam’s eight up-and-running casinos were only open to foreigners – with a five year exemption for Corona Resort & Casino that expired at the start of 2025.
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Industry expert Tim Nguyen, director of Fortuna Investments Worldwide, told Asia Gaming Brief that allowing locals into the country’s casinos would unlock a long-restricted domestic segment and could redirect players who have traditionally travelled to gaming hubs in neighbouring Cambodia.
Another major change at the Grand Ho Tram is that Vietnamese dong is now the only accepted currency on its mass gaming floor. Previously, US dollars were widely used.
The casino is run by long-time Macao gaming executive Walt Power and owned by US private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC. It has 90 table games and more than 500 electronic gaming machines across a 5,000-square-metre gaming floor.
