VietNamNet Bridge – The casinos in Vietnam would target four groups of clients – Chinese, foreign travelers, expatriates and maybe Vietnamese (if the government lifts the bar to Vietnamese in the future). Of these, Chinese players offer the most lucrative opportunities.

The rich neighbors targeted

Analysts said most of the existing casinos have been living on foreign clients, mostly from China.

The casino in Hai Phong City, for example, has 70 percent of clients from China. The small casino in Lao Cai province, with only 8 game tables and 24 rooms, also mainly serves rich gamblers from China, especially from Yunnan province. These special clients may spend 600,000 yuan, or $99,000, on gambling when they go there.

Prof Ha Ton Vinh from California Miramar University, thinks that casino developers will certainly try to attract gamblers from China. In the gambling metropolis of Macau, more than 90 percent of the players are from mainland China. Of this, 70 percent are from Guangdong, 20 percent from Sichuan, 5 percent from Shanghai, while the other 5 percent hail from other countries.

Chinese make up a large proportion of the total revenue of $47 billion earned by the casinos in Macau. The figure is expected to be even higher if a Hong Kong-Macau sea-crossing highway is built, which would allow Chinese to reach Macau in only 45 minutes.

Can the casinos in Vietnam attract Chinese gamblers like Macau can?

Vietnam borders China, and is close to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Some of the existing casinos in Vietnam are located in the Vietnam-China border areas , making access to them easy for Chinese.

“Asian people are very fond of gambling,” Vinh commented, implying that the hobby of Asian people in general and Chinese people in particular is an important factor prompting international casino groups to open casinos in Vietnam.

How to attract rich gamblers?

The owner of the Ho Tram casino in Quang Nam province revealed, at a working session with the National Assembly’s Finance & Budget Committee, that Ho Tram’s turnover had reached $5.5 million by January, after seven months of operation.

Ho Tram is the biggest casino now in Vietnam, with 90 gaming tables and 1,000 machines.

With its modest business performance (the ratio of revenue on total investment capital is one percent), Ho Tram casino, at the current rate, would have a maximum annual turnover of $10 million. If nothing changes, the investor will incur big losses. The National Assembly’s committees, citing reports from the other casino developers, affirm that the casinos have indeed been unprofitable.

However, analysts claim that the dream of making big money with casinos can become a reality. They believe that casinos should not be developed in disparate, isolated projects. Big casinos need to be located in big international entertainment complexes, resorts, or in modern special economic zones.

Casinos are not only the places where people go to gamble, but also to relax, play golf or go shopping. These are the places where gamblers can come with their families.

Ninety percent of the profits for Macau is derived from casinos, while only 10 percent from hotels and other entertainment services. However, without the hotels, high-end shopping malls and amusement parks, Macau would not have the kind of profitability it is now enjoying.

Pham Huyen