Decree 86/2026/ND-CP amending Decree 121/2021/ND-CP on business of prize-winning video games for foreigners

DECREE

 Amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 121/2021/ND-CP of December 27, 2021, on the business of electronic games with winnings for foreigners¹

Pursuant to Law No. 63/2025/QH15 on Organisation of the Government;

Pursuant to Law No. 61/2020/QH14 on Investment, which is amended and supplemented under Law No. 90/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to Law No. 59/2020/QH14 on Enterprises, which is amended and supplemented under Law No. 76/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to Law No. 15/2012/QH13 on Handling of Administrative Violations, which is amended and supplemented under Law No. 67/2020/QH14 and Law No. 88/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to Anti-Money Laundering Law No. 14/2022/QH15;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 121/2021/ND-CP of December 27, 2021, on the business of electronic games with winnings for foreigners.

Article 1. To amend and supplement Clauses 3 and 4, Article 4

“3. Tampering with, erasing, leasing, lending or transferring business eligibility certificates, investment registration certificates, enterprise registration certificates, or written permissions for conducting the business of electronic games with winnings, issued by competent state agencies.

4. Conducting the business of electronic games with winnings in the following cases:

a/ During the period of being deprived of the right to use the certificate of eligibility for conducting the business of electronic games with winnings or suspended from conducting the business of electronic games with winnings for a definite period under decisions of competent state agencies;

b/ During the period of business suspension under decisions of competent state agencies.”.

Article 2. To amend and supplement Article 6

“Article 6. Operation inauguration and operation duration

1. At least 15 days before the expected date of inauguration of business activities involving electronic games with winnings, an enterprise shall send a notice thereof to the Ministry of Finance, and the provincial-level Department of Finance, Department of Public Security and Tax Department for monitoring and management.

2. An enterprise may conduct business all days in a calendar year, excluding days on which business activities are not permitted under decisions of competent state agencies.

In case of being deprived of the right to use the business eligibility certificate for a definite period, being suspended from conducting business activities involving electronic games with winnings for a definite period or being requested by a state agency to suspend its business operation, the enterprise shall, after receiving the decision or written request, immediately suspend its business operation; and concurrently notify players at its business facility of the duration of and reason for the business suspension.

3. An enterprise may suspend its business operation to meet its management requirements. At least 15 days before the expected time of business suspension, the enterprise shall send a notice thereof to the state management agencies defined in Clause 1 of this Article for monitoring and management. Such notice must clearly state the period of business suspension, reason for the suspension and expected time of business resumption. In case of changing the expected time of business resumption, the enterprise shall notify the change in writing to these agencies. The enterprise shall post up a notice of business suspension at its business facility.

4. During its business suspension period, the enterprise shall monitor all entry and exit gates of the business facility via the CCTV system and store footage data under Point b, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Decree to serve the management, examination and inspection by competent state agencies.”.

Article 3. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 6, Article 11

“b/ A monitoring book for controlling persons authorised to enter and leave the business facility as specified in Clauses 2, 3 and 4 of this Article must have the following principal contents:

- E-card identification numbers (if any);

- Full names and identification photos (for those who are issued e-cards);

- Personal identification numbers, passport numbers or international travel document numbers;

- Working positions and titles at the business facility;

- Working time at the business facility;

- Other information relating to the control of persons authorised to enter and leave the business facility to meet management requirements of the enterprise.”.

Article 4. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 14

“4. Within 30 days, an enterprise shall re-export or destroy gaming machines, tokens and gaming gear in the following cases:

a/ The enterprise terminates its business operation or dissolves at its own will, is declared bankrupt by the court, or has its investment registration certificate, enterprise registration certificate or business eligibility certificate revoked; or is subject to termination of the business of electronic games with winnings;

b/ Gaming machines, tokens and gaming gear have expired under regulations of manufacturers or are broken or damaged to the extent that they cannot be repaired or restored to normal operation;

c/ Gaming machines, tokens and gaming gear are no longer needed for use;

d/ The re-export or destruction must be carried out based on conclusions of an examination or inspection agency or a competent state agency;

dd/ The duration of the business of electronic games with winnings stated in the investment registration certificate or business eligibility certificate has expired, except where procedures for the extension of certificate of eligibility for conducting the business of electronic games with winnings are being carried out.”.

Article 5. To amend a number of clauses of Article 15

1. To amend the title of Article 15 as follows:

“Article 15. Internal management and internal control regulations and regulations on settlement of disputes within business facilities”

2. To add Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Regulations on settlement of disputes within business facilities

a/ An enterprise shall formulate regulations on settlement of disputes between players and the enterprise arising from the participation in electronic games with winnings at the business facility. Such regulations must include the following principal contents:

- Principles of dispute settlement;

- Cases of disputes settled in accordance with regulations on settlement of disputes;

- Responsibilities of players and the enterprise for reporting on cases in which games are deemed not to have taken place in conformity with the game rules and requesting the enterprise to settle them;

- Conditions on the current status for complaints to be considered and settled;

- Order and procedures for settlement of disputes between players and the enterprise, including complaint dossiers, the complaint-receiving units, time for dispute settlement by the enterprise and the competence to decide on dispute settlement;

- Rights, obligations and responsibilities of players and the enterprise.

b/ The enterprise shall publicly post up regulations on dispute settlement at the business facility or issue leaflets thereon to players.

c/ In case the enterprise and a player fail to reach a mediation or disagree with the dispute settlement results, the player or the enterprise may initiate court proceedings or resort to arbitration proceedings in accordance with law.”.

Article 6. To amend Clause 1, Article 16

“1. An enterprise shall formulate and issue internal regulations on anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and prevention and combat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (below collectively referred to as internal regulations on anti-money laundering) in accordance with the law on anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and prevention and combat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and amending, supplementing and guiding documents.”.

Article 7. To amend a number of points of Clause 2, Article 18

1. To amend Point dd as follows:

“dd/ To settle disputes and complaints of players in accordance with game rules, dispute settlement regulations and laws;”.

2. To amend Point g as follows:

“g/ To implement measures anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and prevention and combat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in accordance with law;”.

Article 8. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 19

“1. Conditions and criteria for a manager or an administrator of a business facility:

a/ Having full civil act capacity, not being examined for penal liability, serving penalties or being banned by a court from holding positions or practicing in the field of electronic games with winnings;

b/ Possessing a university or higher degree and having at least 3 years’ experience in managing and administering business activities involving electronic games with winnings.”.

Article 9. To amend a number of points of Clause 3, Article 20

1. To amend Point a as follows:

“a/ The enterprise has tourist accommodation establishments being hotels (excluding floating hotels), tourist villas and/or tourist apartments rated 5 stars by a competent state agency in accordance with the Tourism Law and guiding documents;”.

2. To amend Point d as follows:

“d/ Having simultaneously the charter capital and equity of at least VND 500 billion; if the enterprise applies for a business eligibility certificate for multiple tourist accommodation establishments, for every additional business eligibility certificate, both the charter capital and equity must simultaneously increase by an additional VND 500 billion, calculated from the minimum capital amount; operating at a profit in the fiscal year preceding the year of submission of a dossier of application for a business eligibility certificate.”.

Article 10. To amend Clauses 8, 9 and 10, Article 21

“8. The draft game rules, internal management and internal control regulations, regulations on settlement of disputes and internal regulations on anti-money laundering.

9. A business plan, including the following principal contents: objectives, quantity, categories and types of electronic games with winnings, solutions to ensure security and social order and safety for the business facility and the implementation plan.

10. A list of managers or administrators of the business facility and their resumé stating their qualifications and working experience, enclosed with certified copies or copies, together with presentation of the originals, of documents proving the satisfaction of the conditions and criteria specified in Clause 1, Article 19 of this Decree.”.

Article 11. To amend Article 22

“Article 22. Order and procedures for issuance of a business eligibility certificate

1. The enterprise shall submit 1 dossier of application for a business eligibility certificate to the Ministry of Finance by one of the following modes:

a/ By hand-delivery;

b/ By post;

c/ Via the Ministry of Finance’s information system for settlement of administrative procedures.

In case the dossier is incomplete or invalid, within 10 working days after receiving it, the Ministry of Finance shall issue a notice requesting the enterprise to supplement and complete the dossier.

2. Within 90 days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Ministry of Finance shall consider and issue a business eligibility certificate. In case of refusal to issue a business eligibility certificate, the Ministry of Finance shall issue a written reply to the enterprise, clearly stating the reason.

3. Order and procedures for appraisal of a dossier:

a/ Within 10 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Ministry of Finance shall send the dossier to the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the State Bank of Vietnam and the People’s Committee of the province or city (below referred to as provincial-level People’s Committee) where the enterprise applies for permission for conducting business activities involving electronic games with winnings to seek the latter’s opinions;

b/ Within 10 working days after receiving the consultation request from the Ministry of Finance, a consulted agency shall send its written opinions to the Ministry of Finance and be held responsible for its opinions;

c/ After receiving opinions from all related agencies, the Ministry of Finance shall sum up these opinions and consider and decide whether or not to issue a business eligibility certificate;

d/ After being issued a business eligibility certificate by the Ministry of Finance, the enterprise shall carry out procedures for adjusting or adding the business line of electronic games with winnings to its certificate of satisfaction of security and order conditions and notify the business registration agency of the change in business lines in the national business registration database in accordance with law before conducting business activities involving electronic games with winnings.

4. Contents of appraisal

Pursuant to this Decree and relevant regulations, the Ministry of Finance and related agencies shall appraise the dossier regarding the conditions specified in Article 20 this Decree.”.

Article 12. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 24

1. To amend Point b, Clause 1 as follows:

“b/ The enterprise is reorganised (the enterprise is divided, split, merged, consolidated or transformed) in accordance with the Law on Enterprises and after the reorganisation, fully meets the conditions specified in Points a, b and c, Clause 3, Article 20 of this Decree and has the charter capital and equity satisfying the conditions specified in Point d, Clause 3, Article 20 of this Decree. Within 15 days from the date of completion of procedures for the reorganisation, the enterprise shall carry out procedures for re-issuance of the business eligibility certificate.”.

2. To amend Point b, Clause 2 as follows:

“b/ The enterprise shall submit 1 set of dossier of request for re-issuance of the business eligibility certificate as specified in Clause 1, Article 22 of this Decree. Within 10 working days after receiving the enterprise’s written request, the Ministry of Finance shall re-issue the business eligibility certificate to the enterprise.”

Article 13. To amend and supplement Article 26

“Article 26. Extension of business eligibility certificates

1. At least 6 months before its business eligibility certificate expires, if wishing to continue to conduct the business of electronic games with winnings, an enterprise shall carry out procedures for extension of the business eligibility certificate.

2. Conditions for extension of a business eligibility certificate for an enterprise:

a/ Fully satisfying the business conditions specified in Points a, b and c, Clause 3, Article 20 of this Decree;

b/ Having the charter capital and equity that satisfy the conditions specified in Point d, Clause 3, Article 20 of this Decree;

c/ Not having been subject to the administrative sanction of deprival of the right to use the business eligibility certificate or termination of business activities involving electronic games with winnings twice or more times in accordance with the law on sanctioning of administrative violations in 10 years prior to dossier submission.

3. A dossier of request for extension of a business eligibility certificate must comprise:

a/ A written request for extension of the business eligibility certificate, made according to Form No. 03 provided in Appendix II to this Decree;

b/ The documents specified in Clauses 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10, Article 21 of this Decree;

c/ A business plan that has the following principal contents:

- Results of business activities involving electronic games with winnings in the last 3 years up to the time of dossier submission, including: information on the business facility; quantity and types of gaming machines, types of games actually put for commercial operation; results business activities involving electronic games with winnings (turnovers, expenses, profits and state budget remittances);

- A tentative plan on business activities involving electronic games with winnings in the coming time, covering quantity and type of gaming machines, type of games; expected results of the business of electronic games with winnings (turnovers, expenses, profits and state budget remittances); solutions to ensure security and social order and safety for the business facility; the proposed extension period; and an implementation plan;

- The situation of observance of the law on the business of electronic games with winnings and the enterprise’s commitment to abiding by relevant regulations on the business of electronic games with winnings.

4. The order and procedures for extension of business eligibility certificates must comply with Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article 22 of this Decree.

5. Contents of appraisal

Pursuant to this Decree and other relevant regulations, the Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies specified in Clause 3, Article 22 of this Decree in, appraising dossiers regarding the conditions specified in Clause 2 of this Article so as to consider and decide to issue extended business eligibility certificates to enterprises. Extended business eligibility certificates must clearly state the time of extension.

6. The extension period of a business eligibility certificate shall comply with the enterprise’s request but must not exceed the validity duration of the enterprise’s investment registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate and the maximum duration of 10 years from the date of extension.”.

Article 14. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 28

1. To amend Points d and dd, Clause 1 as follows:

“d/ The enterprise fails to fully satisfy the conditions for conducting the business of electronic games with winnings as specified at Point a, Clause 2, Article 40 of this Decree as concluded by examination or inspection agencies;

dd/ The enterprise seriously violates regulations on organisation of business activities involving electronic games with winnings as concluded by examination or inspection agencies;”.

2. To add Point h to Clause 1 as follows:

“h/ Allowing the subjects not specified in Article 9 of this Decree to play electronic games with winnings.”.

3. To amend Clause 3 as follows:

“3. The Ministry of Finance shall issue decisions to revoke business eligibility certificates in the cases specified in Points a, d, dd, e, g and h, Clause 1 of this Article.”.

Article 15. To amend Clause 3, Article 29

“3. Within 45 days after receiving a complete dossier under regulations, the State Bank of Vietnam shall consider and issue a licence, made according to Form No. 05 provided in Appendix II to this Decree. In case of refusal to issue a licence, the State Bank of Vietnam shall issue a written reply, clearly stating the reason.

In case the dossier is incomplete or invalid, within 10 working days after receiving the dossier, the State Bank of Vietnam shall issue a notice requesting the enterprise to supplement the dossier.”.

Article 16. To amend Clause 1, Article 33

“1. Enterprises shall publicly and fully announce game rules and dispute settlement regulations at their business facilities.”.

Article 17. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 39

1. To amend Point c, Clause 1 as follows:

“c/ Conducting specialised inspections and handling violations of the law on business activities involving electronic games with winnings under this Decree and the law on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of the business of games with winnings;”.

2. To add Point d to Clause 4 as follows:

“d/ Direct online social media service providers to proactively block and refrain from providing electronic games with winnings via online social media platforms.”.

3. To amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

“5. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall:

a/ Direct Internet service providers and network infrastructure and telecommunications businesses in proactively preventing or refraining from providing electronic games with winnings via computer networks, telecommunications networks and the Internet;

b/ Coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and related ministries and sectors in preventing the provision of gambling services via computer networks, telecommunications networks and the Internet from overseas into Vietnam.”.

4. To amend Points b and c, Clause 8 as follows:

“b/ Manage, supervise, inspect, and conduct specialised inspection of, business activities involving electronic games with winnings in their localities in order to ensure their compliance with this Decree and law;

c/ Direct related agencies in localities under their management in performing regular and constant management, supervision, specialised examination, and inspection of business activities involving electronic games with winnings in their localities.”.

Article 18. To amend and supplement Article 40

“Article 40. Specialised examination, inspection

1. State agencies shall conduct specialised examination and inspection on a regular or irregular basis. Irregular specialised examination or inspection may be conducted only when signs of violation of enterprises are detected or when it is necessary to serve the settlement of complaints and denunciations, corruption prevention and combat or as assigned or requested by heads of competent state agencies.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, related ministries and sectors, and provincial-level People’s Committees of localities where enterprises conduct business activities in, conducting regular specialised examination once every 3 years. Examination contents include:

a/ Examination of the satisfaction of the conditions for issuance of business eligibility certificates specified in Points a, b and c, Clause 3, Article 20 of this Decree.

Particularly for the enterprises specified in Clause 1, Article 42 of this Decree, examination of the satisfaction of the conditions for conducting the business of electronic games with winnings under permits issued by competent state agencies in accordance with law.

b/ Examination of the observance of regulations on organisation of business activities involving electronic games with winnings, covering the following principal contents:

- Management of gaming machines and equipment and tokens;

- Management of persons eligible for playing electronic games with winnings and persons permitted to enter and leave business facilities;

- Observance of internal management, internal control and financial regulations and game rules;

- Foreign exchange management and observance of internal regulations on anti-money laundering; 

- Observance of regulations on finance, accounting and state budget remittance obligations.

3. When detecting signs of violating regulations on eligible players or regulations on assurance of security and social order and safety committed by enterprises conducting the business of electronic games with winnings or when receiving crime denunciations related to these enterprises or other violations relating to business activities involving electronic games with winnings, provincial-level People’s Committees and Public Security agencies may decide to conduct unscheduled specialised examination and send examination results to the Ministry of Finance and related state management agencies within 30 days after the examination is completed.

4. Specialised examination on the performance of tax payment obligations by enterprises must comply with the tax laws.

5. Within 12 months after an enterprise inaugurates business activities involving electronic games with winnings under Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall conduct a specialised examination of these business activities based on the contents specified in Clause 2 of this Article and send examination results to the Ministry of Finance for monitoring and management.

6. Inspection of business activities involving electronic games with winnings must comply with the inspection law.”.

Article 19. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 41

“3. Request enterprises to suspend some or all business activities involving electronic games with winnings within business facilities when having sufficient grounds to believe that the enterprises seriously violate law, and notify such in writing to the agency that has issued business eligibility certificates and the competent state agency for handling in accordance with law.”.

Article 20. To amend and supplement Article 42

“Article 42. Transitional provisions

1. Enterprises that have been issued investment registration certificates or enterprise registration certificates which state the business line of electronic games with winnings, or obtained competent state agencies’ written permissions for conducting the business of electronic games with winnings before the effective date of Decree No. 86/2013/ND-CP may continue to conduct the business of electronic games with winnings under such certificates or permissions.

2. An enterprise defined in Clause 1 of this Article shall carry out procedures for issuance of a business eligibility certificate, if it so wishes, according to the following provisions:

a/ A dossier of application for a business eligibility certificate must comprise:

- A competent state agency’s written permission for conducting the business of electronic games with winnings (if any);

- Documents proving the quantity, types and categories of gaming machines actually put into commercial operation by the enterprise under regulations effective before the effective date of Decree No. 86/2013/ND-CP or the competent state agency’s written permission (if any);

- The documents specified in Clauses 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10, Article 21 of this Decree. Particularly, enterprises that do not have tourist accommodation establishments are not required to submit the documents specified in Clauses 3 and 4, Article 21 of this Decree.

b/ The enterprise shall submit a dossier of application for a business eligibility certificate to the Ministry of Finance. Within 30 days after receiving a complete and valid dossier of the enterprise, the Ministry of Finance shall issue a business eligibility certificate to the enterprise, in which:

- The number, types and categories of gaming machines which the enterprise is licensed to commercially operate must comply with the investment registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate or the written permission of the competent state agency or the quantity, types and categories of gaming machines actually put into commercial operation by the enterprise under regulations effective before the effective date of Decree No. 86/2013/ND-CP. If there is a discrepancy in the number of gaming machines, the enterprise may conduct business with up to the highest stated number of machines.

Particularly for an enterprise that has not yet inaugurated business activities involving electronic games with winnings, the number of gaming machines which the enterprise is licensed to commercially operate must comply with the investment registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate or the written permission of the competent state agency. If the investment registration certificate, enterprise registration certificate or written permission of the competent state agency does not specify the number of gaming machines, the enterprise may conduct business with the number of machines specified in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Decree.

- The maximum validity duration of the business eligibility certificate shall be equal to the remaining operation duration stated in the issued investment registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate or written permission of a competent state agency. In case the investment registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate or written permission of a competent state agency does not specify the business duration, the validity duration of a business eligibility certificate must comply with Article 23 of this Decree.

3. When the enterprise’s duration of conducting the business of electronic games with winnings specified in Clause 1 of this Article expires, the enterprise shall terminate these business activities. If wishing to be issued a business eligibility certificate, the enterprise must satisfy the conditions specified in Article 20 of this Decree and have neither been deprived of the right to use its business eligibility certificate nor had these business activities suspended for twice or more times within 10 years prior to the submission of the dossier of application for the business eligibility certificate. The dossier, order and procedures must comply with Article 22 of this Decree.

4. In the course of business operation, an enterprise specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be subject to termination of business activities involving electronic games with winnings in one of the following cases:

a/ Committing a serious violation of regulations on organisation of business activities involving electronic games with winnings as concluded by an examination or inspection agency;

b/ Failing to remedy the violation within 90 days after the Ministry of Finance issues a written notice of the enterprise’s violation of one of the regulations on business facilities and managers or administrators of business facilities specified in Articles 5 and 19 of this Decree;

c/ Allowing persons other than those specified in Article 9 of this Decree to play electronic games with winnings.

The Ministry of Finance shall issue a decision to terminate business activities involving electronic games with winnings. The enterprise shall immediately terminate business activities involving electronic games with winnings at the time its business activities are terminated.”.

Article 21. To amend Appendix I and Form No. 02 of Appendix II

Article 22. To replace or annul a number of phrases, points, clauses and articles of Decree No. 121/2021/ND-CP

1. To replace the phrase “local Tax Department” in Clauses 3 and 4, Article 7; Clauses 1, 3 and 4, Article 8; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 12; Clause 5, Article 14; Point b, Clause 2, Article 15; and Clause 2, Article 16, with the phrase “provincial-level tax agencies”.

2. To annul Points c and d, Clause 2, Article 5; Clauses 1 and 2, Article 20; Clauses 2 and 7, Article 21; the second bullet point of Point a, Clause 2, and the second bullet point of Clause 3, Article 24; Point b, Clause 2, Article 25; Point b, Clause 1, Article 29; the second bullet point of Point b, Clause 1, Article 30; the second bullet point of Point a, Clause 2, Article 32; and Clause 2, Article 39.

Article 23. Implementation provisions

1. This Decree takes effect on May 15, 2026.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, and related organisations and individuals shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
HO DUC PHOC

* The Appendices to this Decree are not translated.