Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh has signed off on a dog racing track project in Vietnam’s Lam Dong province. A licence to operate a bookmaking service, however, has not been approved with developers advised to apply when the track is complete, VietnamNet is reporting.
Of note, gambling is most illegal in Vietnam, however, up to 2023 there was a dog racing track operating in Vietnam’s Ba Ria – Vung Tau province. It was, however, shut down when the owners failed to renew the licence. It’s not exactly clear why this was, however, this article from VNExpress seems to suggest that it was no longer economically viable. Incidentally, the owners of the Ba Ria – Vung Tau track are also behind the new race track in Lam Dong.
Ba Ria – Vung Tau, which is just a few clicks from Ho Chi Minh City, is a popular tourist destination and a key manufacturing hub. By comparison, Lam Dong is mostly mountainous and isolated and not particularly well connected infrastructure-wise. With this in mind, it’s not really clear why Lam Dong has been chosen to host a new racetrack.
See also: Gambling in Vietnam: Industry Overview