Ha Long casino operator posts losses for six straight quarter

Royal International Corporation, which operates the largest casino in the northern town of Ha Long, has reported a post-tax loss of nearly VND27 billion ($1.17 million) in Q1.

This is the sixth consecutive quarter that the HCMC Stock Exchange-listed company has reported a loss.

In its financial report, the company has blamed the loss on the impacts of the new Covid-19 outbreak that happened late January this year.

First-quarter revenues were down 24 percent year-on-year to VND27 billion.

For the whole year, it estimates revenues of VND10.3 trillion ($447.3 million), mainly from its accommodation (hotel and villa) business.

Last year, the company suffered a loss of VND82 billion ($3.6 million).

For a long time, the Vietnamese government treated gambling as a social evil that was banned. Even when the allowed casinos to open, Vietnamese citizens were prohibited from them. In January 2019, the country opened certain casinos to local people as part of a three-year trial, saying it would decide the admission policy on a case-by-case basis.

Vietnamese who want to gamble in a casino must be over 21, earn a minimum of VND10 million ($430) a month and have no criminal record or objection from their family.

A group of casino owners recently requested the government to let Vietnamese into their establishments to make up for the absence of foreigners under Covid-19 travel restrictions.