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On 15 March 2017, Decree No. 03/2017/ND-CP on casino business operations ("Decree 03") came into effect. Decree 03 sets forth conditions for licensing in the casino business, specific regulations on casino business operations, and a 3-year pilot permission for Vietnamese citizens to play in casinos.
Under Decree 03, enterprises must obtain both Certificates of Investment Registration and Certificate of Eligibility in order to legally operate in the casino business. The issuance of these two certificates corresponds to the condition that enterprises must invest in a project within a casino-included entertainment complex with an investment capital of at least USD 2 billion.
Casino-operating enterprises will operate its casino business under strict regulations on location, operation time, number of gaming machines/tables, and types and categories of prize-winning games.
On a pilot basis, Vietnamese citizens are now able to play in casinos if they are at least 21 years of age, fully capable of civil acts, and are financially capable of playing casino. In addition, they must not be persons whose parents, spouses or children request the casino-operating enterprises to prevent them from playing at the casinos.
On January 2017, the Government released Decree No. 06/2017/ND-CP on the business of betting on horse racing, greyhound racing and international soccer ("Decree 06"). Decree 06 came into force from 31 March 2017.
Under Decree 06, only enterprises with an Eligibility Certificate for the business of betting on horse and/or greyhound racing may organise such races and use their results for betting. For international soccer betting, only one enterprise is allowed to pilot this type of business, for a period of 5 years.
Decree 06 also regulates the conditions on persons betting and the amount of bets. Persons must be at least 21 year olds, have full legal capacity, and are not persons who are prohibited from betting. A minimum of VND 10,000 and a maximum of VND 1,000,000 for each type of bet is imposed under Decree 06, and such bets must be made in Vietnamese Dong.
Circular No. 39/2016/TT-NHNN, which prescribes lending transactions of credit institutions and/or foreign bank branches with customers ("Circular 39") took effect from 15 March 2017. Key provisions include:
- Permitted borrowers comprise enterprises or individuals. This means non-legal entities, such as households, cooperatives or other organisations without legal person status, are not eligible to borrow capital at credit institutions.
- If customers fail to make due payment of interest, they will have to pay late payment interest charged at the interest rate agreed upon between them and credit institutions, capped at 10% p.a. on the outstanding balance of late payment interest in accordance with the period of late payment.
On 1 March 2017, new Rules of Arbitration of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre ("VIAC") took effects, replacing the former 2012 Rules. The major focus of the 2017 Rules lies in addressing cost-related issues and expediting the proceedings. Three key changes:
- Multiple contractual disputes (Article 6): Parties now can make a single request for arbitration for all claims arising out of or in connection with more than one contract.
- Consolidation of claims (Article 15): Parties may agree to consolidate two or more arbitrations pending under the Rules into a single arbitration.
- Expedited procedure (Article 37): Subject to the parties’ agreement, an Expedited Procedure will be applied in resolving the dispute. While no specific expedited procedures have been prescribed, the it may involve adjudication through a sole arbitrator, shortening of time limits, and carrying out hearings without the presence of the parties and/or by means of teleconference, video-conference or other appropriate means.
On 26 December 2016, the Ministry of Information and Communications ("MIC") issued Circular No. 38/2016/TT-BTTTT providing detailed regulations on the cross-border provision of public information ("Circular 38"). Circular 38 took effect from 15 February 2017.
Under Circular 38, offshore entities that provide cross-border public information into Vietnam and meet the specified criteria must provide contact information to the MIC by direct submission, by post or email (report38@mic.gov.vn). Circular 38 also specifically implements content restrictions provided under Article 5 of Decree No. 72, in which the use and provision of the internet should not, inter alia, oppose the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, threaten national security, incite violence, arouse racial and religious animosity, propagate pornography or contradict national traditions (infringing content).
Telecommunication enterprises and onshore data center service providers are required to report infringing content by direct submission, post or email to the MIC within 3 hours of discovery. In addition, onshore data center service providers must either periodically or upon the MIC's request notify the MIC of their service supply to offshore service providers.
Please note that whilst the information in this Update is correct to the best of our knowledge and belief at the time of writing, it is only
intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter and should not be treated as a substitute for specific professional advice.
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