Vietnam Plans to Legalize Sports Gambling

By JAMES HOOKWAY And VU TRONG KHANH

Vietnam is emerging as the latest Asian nation to loosen a straight-laced attitude to gambling, with the Finance Ministry saying it plans to legalize sports betting.

The move, partly inspired by Singapore's success in reinventing itself as a casino hub in recent years, followed discussions about easing restrictions on gambling in other major markets, such as Japan, and underscored the speed with which the gambling world's center of gravity has shifted toward Asia.

Hanoi's Finance Ministry said Monday that legalizing and regulating betting on soccer matches and other sporting events would help limit the social damage caused by underground gambling syndicates. While Vietnam has only a handful of casinos, which only foreign-passport holders can enter, informal gambling on European soccer matches is widespread. Many Vietnamese also regularly cross the border to gamble at Cambodian casinos, a practice that Vietnam's Communist leaders long have viewed with distaste.

The recent success of the gambling industry in Singapore appears to be changing perceptions. Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s Marina Bay Sands and Genting Singapore PLC's Resorts World Sentosa opened in Singapore in 2010 after the government auctioned off licenses to operate in the wealthy city-state. The auction followed years of hesitation about the possible social impact of casinos. But the casinos have been a financial success, drawing large numbers of tourists without triggering widespread crime or other problems.

Singapore's success in creating family-oriented resorts has piqued the interest of investors and governments hoping to replicate that model in other parts of Southeast Asia.

Vietnamese Finance Minister Vuong Dinh Hue visited Singapore over the weekend to study how sports betting works there. The ministry said he met with executives from the Tote Board and Singapore Pools, government-run operators of sports betting in Singapore. Mr. Hue also visited a horse-racing track.

On his return to Vietnam, Mr. Hue said his country could learn from Singapore's example in setting up a legal and organizational framework for operating large-scale betting operations.

The Finance Ministry said it would draft legislation to submit to the prime minister for approval but didn't provide a time frame.

It was unclear whether Mr. Hue's more tolerant approach to sports betting signaled a broader shift among the country's top leadership in Vietnam to open its market to more casinos and other forms of gambling.

It also was unclear if private companies, including foreign investors, would be allowed into the sports-betting market, or if the business would be dominated by the Vietnamese government.

Government officials couldn't be reached.

U.S. casino operators view Asia as an important new growth market as their American operations continue to suffer the effects of the 2008 financial crisis. PricewaterhouseCoopers expects Asia to contribute 43% of the global casino market by 2015, up from 29% in 2010.

Vietnam could be one of several new gambling hubs, thanks to its population of around 90 million people and its growing appeal among foreign tourists. Las Vegas Sands Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson has said he was trying to encourage Vietnamese authorities to allow the company to build integrated casino-and-convention resorts in the country.

Other countries also appear to have been impressed by Singapore's success.

A group of Japanese lawmakers are discussing plans to submit a bill that would pave the way for casinos to open in the world's third-largest economy.

The Philippines also plans to use the gambling industry as a way to attract more tourists.

Write to James Hookway at james.hookway@wsj.com and Vu Trong Khanh at trong-khanh.vu@dowjones.com