Online casinos in Vietnam and Thailand: partial permits

Briefly by status for October 2025

Vietnam: online casinos and private online betting banned; the state prepares a five-year pilot for betting on international football (one operator, increased daily limits). In parallel, they are discussing the fate of citizens' access to land casinos after the Phú Quốc experiment was curtailed.

Thailand: online casinos and unlicensed betting banned; the bill on "entertainment complexes with casinos" in 2025 went through zigzags - from approval by the Cabinet to recall and negative verdict of the Senate Committee; authorities have stepped up sweeps of online networks.

Vietnam: ban on online casinos and "point" indulgences

What is allowed now. State lotteries are legal; land-based casinos operate for foreigners. The experiment, which allowed citizens to play at the Corona Resort (Phú Quốc), has been suspended, and the issue of further access is being discussed.

Sports betting: an upcoming pilot. The Ministry of Finance issued a draft new decree that will replace Decree 06/2017 and launch a five-year test of international football betting with a "single operator" model and a limit of up to VND 10 million per day per player. This is the first real step towards a legal online betting product under state control.

What remains banned. Online casinos and any unauthorized sites/applications. The use of cryptocurrencies does not change the legal assessment of gambling. (The general confirmation is provided by the current regulation and law enforcement practice reflected in the draft decree and industry reviews.)

Practice for operators. Focus on offline tourism and preparation for the pilot: transparent ownership structure, providers - KYC/AML vendors and reporting for future requirements. For content - mandatory certification of RNG/live platforms (by analogy with the current practice of the ground segment and the design standards of the pilot).

Thailand: "stop" on casinos, zero tolerance for online illegal immigrants

Legislative arc of 2025. At the beginning of the year, the cabinet supported the project of legalizing casinos as part of entertainment complexes, then the political crisis cooled the process: in July the project was withdrawn, and by the end of September the Senate committee spoke out against it. They can return to the topic no earlier than 2026. Online formats in the concept of the project were directly prohibited - emphasis only on the "ground" game.

Reality for today. Online casinos are illegal; there is a series of large-scale raids and blocking of domains, seizure of assets from networks with a turnover of billions of baht. In parallel, the authorities are creating interdepartmental headquarters to combat cybercrime and financial schemes.

What is allowed from "partial" forms. State Lottery; some traditional products (for example, offline boxing/horse racing bets) within a strictly agreed framework. Any online platforms outside the state contours are prohibited. (Even in the "casino bill," online gambling services were excluded.)

Comparison of approaches: "pilots against prohibitions"

Quotes on key points: pilot in Vietnam and limits -; curtailing citizens' access to Corona/Phú Quốc -; the timeline of the Thai "casino bill" and the ban on online -; raids and blockages -.

Practical conclusions

To players

In Vietnam, follow the launch of the official football operator (after the adoption of the decree). Any other online sites are illegal.

There are no legal online casinos in Thailand; participation in offshore sites leads to blocking and liability risks.

To operators

Vietnam: prepare a dossier for a single operator model (capital, beneficiaries, KYC/AML, reporting) and localize payments with transparent limits.

Thailand: strategy - offline entertainment/tourism without gambling and compliance with advertising; it is impossible to count on "digital" gambling products until the law changes.

Southeast Asia in 2025 demonstrates different trajectories: Vietnam is testing the "neat" legalization of a separate bet (international football) with a strict ban on online casinos, while Thailand, after political hesitation, "froze" the idea of ​ ​ a casino and intensified the fight against illegal online networks. For the market, this means: legal online in the region will appear narrow pilots, and not "big gates" - and only where the state is ready to keep full control over the product and payments.

Condition of materials: October 17, 2025