Key Points
- From 15 November 2026, casinos & electronic gaming venues serving foreigners can verify their customers either by using the VNeID app on their phone, or by just bringing along their ID.
- Decree 391/2026/ND CP kicks in on 5 December, and basically slaps a VND200 million fine on any organisation that gets it wrong. This is like a replacement for the old Decree 137/2021/ND CP, which got booted out in December.
- Customer registration and all the usual rules about checking eligibility & hiring staff are still in place, the VNeID app just gives you another way to do it all, but with the same tough rules to follow.
On 16 November, a player rocked up to The Grand Ho Tram and just whipped out their phone to show the casino staff instead of a passport. And thanks to Decree 392/2026/ND CP, that’s now perfectly fine to do. Though, the decree does still keep all the same requirements around customer registers, eligibility checks and staff hiring, so it’s not like things have changed that much.
Vietnam’s Casinos Get Access to VNeID, A Real Game Changer
Decree 392/2026/ND CP came in on 15 November 2026, according to a report by iGamingToday. And it’s all to do with changing the way casinos, electronic gaming venues serving foreigners and betting operators manage player verification. It basically gives them a choice, either use the VNeID app or stick with a physical ID. But either way, it’s still the same job to do.
Customer records are still absolutely essential. You need to have a complete list of all your customers’ details, and make sure that the people who don’t qualify get turned away.
The decree also still sticks to the same old rules about staffing. Casinos serving foreigners need to make sure at least 30% of their security staff come from proper security providers, and that’s been in place since 2016.
Decree 391 Introduces Fines, Big Time
Decree 391/2026/ND CP was issued on 20 October, and it gives the rundown on the fines for breaking all these rules. And let’s just say, it’s not pretty. From 5 December, organisations can get hit with fines of up to VND200 million, which is like almost $8,000. Individuals get a slap on the wrist of up to VND100 million.
The fines vary depending on how bad the offence is. Failing to open a customer register, or just filling in half the information needed, gets you fined around VND130 to VND150 million, or roughly $4,900 to $5,650. And if you’re really bad, you might even get your licence suspended for up to six months.
But if you let in people who shouldn’t be there, or don’t do a proper head count of who’s coming in, you get slapped with a fine of VND 180 to VND 2,000 million. And to make things even better, you’ll get your licence suspended too, for between six and 12 months. Repeat offenders can end up with a licence suspension of up to 24 months. And all this applies to electronic gaming venues serving foreigners too.
Betting operators get a slightly different set of fines. If you get caught selling tickets to people who shouldn’t be buying them, you’ll be out VND130 to VND150 million.
20 Days Until the New Penalties Come into Force
There are two separate deadlines in this case. VNeID checks will be legal from 15 November, but Decree 137/2021 will still remain the relevant penalty system until 5 December. As a result, there will be 20 days for operators to test the app against their current registers before the implementation of new penalties.
However, one particular issue remains unclear. The reports that I have access to do not clarify whether all necessary data for the customer register is available via VNeID check. In this case, manual input of some information will still be needed from operators. As a result, savings from digitalisation might be less than expected.
What Casinos Will Be the First to Start Using Digital Checks?
The use of digital verification is especially important for those casinos where Vietnamese citizens are allowed to gamble. Resolution 8/2025/NQ-CP, which was passed in November 2025, gives qualified Vietnamese citizens the opportunity to gamble at selected casinos.
Eligible Vietnamese citizens can now visit two casinos – Corona Resort & Casino, located on Phu Quoc, and The Grand Ho Tram. The former is allowed to give entrance to qualified citizens without a time limit, while The Grand Ho Tram operates as a part of a five-year-long pilot program.
Another pilot is supposed to start in Van Don, Quang Ninh, when the casino gets the operating license.
It is important for all of these casinos to check customers’ eligibility to play games. Every casino must be capable of proving that it did not let into its territory any customers who failed this eligibility check.
In addition, foreign visitors should also be taken into account. According to Sigma, Vietnam had 12.3 million foreign arrivals during the first six months of 2026, which is a 14.9 per cent increase, aiming at 25 million arrivals. They will be able to continue verifying themselves via their identity documents, which means that the new decree will not affect them.
The Broader Trend of National Digital Identity
The appearance of VNeID at casino entrances is also an element of a broader transition of Vietnam to digital identification. In July 2026, Biometric Update gave such figures at the national level as 102.1 million digital identity records and 71.5 million activated accounts. The difference between these two numbers is around 30 million people.
What Comes Next?
There are three key dates that operators have to keep track of. The option of using VNeID for verifying customers’ identities starts on 15 November. The penalty framework started replacing Decree 137/2021 on 5 December. Future inspections will provide insights into how officials treat digital scans when verifying customers’ eligibility.
It will be important for operators to pay attention to the requirements for maintaining registers and keeping records of the scans. Whether or not digital verification leads to additional work will depend on these requirements.
Expert Analysis: Digital Verification Is Optional, But the Penalties Are Not
In our opinion, the headline gives a wrong impression about the changes that were made. VNeID does not cancel any duties for operators. It does not change the information operators have to store in customer registers, nor does it relax the eligibility checks and fines. In our opinion, this decree gives one more tool for fulfilling operators’ duties.
Suspension will have a greater impact on operators’ actions than the fine will. The maximum fine of about US$7,550 may seem quite insignificant for a licensed resort. 12 to 24 months of suspension of operating licences as a consequence of the second offence related to admitting an ineligible customer seems to be a far greater penalty. Operators will be careful about this clause.
We know for sure that not all operators will agree with us. Even such a relatively low fine can significantly affect the results of operation for a small casino. Some operators may say that the application brings risks. This assumption is justified. A digital scan provides inspectors with the possibility of comparing this data with customer registers.
However, there is one thing that is still unclear. What will the records of the first operator fined after 5 December look like?
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