Press Release on issuance of Circular No.10/2017/TT-NHNN
The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam issued Circular No.10/2017/TT-NHNN on August 30th, 2017 guiding foreign exchange management for casino business. The Circular stipulates following main substances:
1. Governing scope and regulated entities:
- Scope of regulation: the Circular guides foreign exchange management for casino business within Vietnam’s territory.
- Regulated entities: Casino-operating enterprises; Individuals who are allowed to play in casinos if they are foreigners and overseas Vietnamese citizens holding foreign passports issued by competent foreign authorities or valid laissez-passers and having lawfully entered Vietnam; Vietnamese citizens who are allowed to play in Casino business establishments in the experimental phase under the provisions specified in Item 3 of Article 12 of Decree No.03/2017/ND-CP dated January 16th, 2017 of the Government on casino business.
In addition, this Circular also regulates commercial banks and foreign bank branches with License on trading, providing foreign exchange services and other institutions and individuals related to casino business.
2. The Circular specifies the scope of foreign currency receipts and expenditures and other foreign exchange transactions of casino-operating enterprises, including:
- Receive foreign currency cash from the sale of tokens;
- Receive foreign currency cash from gambling machines that function as the staking tellers of foreign currency cash paid by foreign gamblers;
- Receive foreign currency wire transfer within the scope of receipt of foreign currency account;
- Spend foreign currency cash as amount of winnings to foreign winners or reimburse foreign currency cash if a foreign gambler’s tokens have not been used up;
- Send monetary sums via wire transfer within the scope of expenditure of foreign currency account;
- Other foreign exchange transactions regulated in this Circular such as: Opening and using the special foreign currency accounts; reserving foreign currency cash balances; confirming the amount of winnings, bonuses, reimbursement of tokens that must be paid to gamblers.
3. Special foreign currency accounts:
Due to the particularity and complexity of the casino business, in order to facilitate the supervision and management as well as to limit the use of illegal money transfers, this Circular stipulates that casino-operating enterprises must open 01 (one) special foreign currency account for each foreign currency at 01 (one) authorized bank and are entitled to carry out the receipts and expenditures of that foreign currency on this account.
4. Foreign currency cash in hand:
- Based on the situation of casino business operations, the enterprises are entitled to retain an amount of foreign currency cash in hand everyday on the basis of calculating a sufficient amount to afford the winnings and reimburse an amount of foreign currency cash to gamblers if tokens have not been used up. At the same time, casino-operating enterprises must conclude written agreements with authorized banks, where they have opened special foreign currency accounts, on the foreign currency cash balances;
- Foreign currency cash balance must be prescribed in the License;
- In the consecutive working day from the date when an amount of receipts earned from the casino-operating enterprises exceeds an amount of defined cash balance, the enterprises are subjected to depositing this surplus amount into the special foreign currency account opened at the authorized banks.
5. Receiving and using the winnings paid to gamblers:
The draft Circular specifies how gamblers will receive winnings payout and how to use the sum as follows:
(i) Foreign gamblers are entitled to received winnings paid in foreign currency or in Vietnamese dongs:
- If foreign gamblers have won cash winnings paid in foreign currency (hereinafter referred to as foreign cash winnings), they are entitled to: sell their foreign currencies at authorized banks or forex agencies for Vietnamese dongs; transfer foreign cash winnings overseas through authorized banks; carry in person foreign cash winnings overseas by obtaining the authorized bank’s confirmation of transfer; deposit foreign cash winnings into the gambler’s demand accounts opened at authorized banks.
- If foreign gamblers receive their foreign cash winnings by wire transfer: The foreign cash winnings shall be transferred from the casino-operating enterprise’s special foreign currency account to the gambler’s foreign currency demand account opened at authorized banks in Vietnam; or to the gambler’s bank accounts opened in foreign countries.
- If foreign gamblers receive winnings paid in Vietnamese dongs, they can deposit the cash amount directly into their demand account opened at authorized banks in Vietnam; or the casino-operating enterprise can transfer the winnings in Vietnamese dongs from its demand account to the foreign gambler’s demand account opened at authorized banks in Vietnam.
(ii) Vietnamese gamblers will receive winnings paid in Vietnamese dongs (by cash or wire transfer).
6. In addition to the above-mentioned contents, the Circular also specifies the responsibilities of casino-operating enterprises as well as credit institutions, the management responsibilities of the State Bank of Vietnam branches in the area in order to closely and effectively supervise and manage the casino business.
This Circular shall come into effect from October 15th, 2017.
THE STATE BANK OF VIETNAM
Translated by VA