We are Going to Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the fastest growing online gaming markets in the world with approximately 32.8MM Vietnamese engaged in online gaming. The estimated spend on online gaming for 2107 was $352MM with a potential market for legalised online gambling estimated to exceed $20 billion USD annually. The country has begun to legalise gambling with a growing number of licensed casinos located predominately in and around Ho Chi Minh City. The government recognises the fact that gambling is extremely popular with both Vietnamese and a very large and growing number of Chinese tourists who often cross the border into Cambodia where gambling is legal. Consider the fact that Cambodia with a population of 15.7MM generates gambling revenues of $2.5 Billion annually.

With a population of approximately 93MM is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a projected GDP for 2018 of 6.8%. With a low unemployment rate and a continued increase in per capita income the country has a fast growing/youth driven middle class. More than half of the population has access to the Internet and over seventy percent of Internet users in Vietnam go online using a smart phone. Average smart phone usage in Vietnam exceeds 100 minutes per day and over thirty million Vietnamese own a smart phone. Vietnam is the third largest and one of the fastest growing market for Smartphones in SE Asia. In terms of usage 88 minutes a day is spent on entertainment and related content, 46 minutes a day on apps and 40 minutes a day on communications services. Within 15 minutes of waking up in the morning 39% of Vietnamese have already checked their smartphones and 33 million Vietnamese are active on social media.

We are going to Vietnam with great local and international gaming partners, and this is where the "Devil is in the Details" as I learned at Deloitte you must walk the talk and very few can make that walk! The fact is that in order to optimise our success we will need "Best in Class" partners at all stages of the game. If you would like more information and or feel you can add value to this venture please contact our office in Hong Kong or feel free to leave a comment on this article.