The gambling landscape in Southeast Asia has changed rapidly in recent years, with IR projects in Thailand, Japan, and the UAE hitting the hot search one after another, but one country is quietly making its policy turnaround—Vietnam. From June 24 to 26, 2026, the SPiCE East Asia Summit will take place in Ho Chi Minh City, directly addressing Vietnam's current core development focus—the casino-driven tourism economy. If you frequently check the market analysis section on the PASA official website, you will find that articles interpreting Vietnam's integrated resort planning and e-visa policies have significantly increased over the past year. Everyone has sensed the same signal: Vietnam's card game is being reshuffled.
Why has Vietnam suddenly become the focus?
The answer lies in the policies. In recent years, the Vietnamese government has put a lot of effort into upgrading the tourism industry, with two actions particularly noteworthy:
Simplifying the e-visa process: For integrated resorts that rely on international visitors, the ease of visa procedures directly determines the ceiling of visitor flow. The continuous optimization of Vietnam's e-visa is equivalent to laying the groundwork for major casino resorts in advance.
Loosening policies on the casino economy: Vietnam is cautiously allowing its nationals to enter specific pilot casinos, which was unimaginable before. Although the policy is not advancing quickly, the direction is clear—casino-centric integrated resorts are being defined as an important engine for upgrading Vietnam's tourism industry.
This background makes the choice of Ho Chi Minh City for the SPiCE East Asia Summit no coincidence. It's like moving the classroom right next to the examination room, where developers, operators, and tech providers can discuss policy texts while experiencing the real market temperature on-site.
What specifically can this summit bring?
SPiCE is known for its pragmatic approach in the industry, and this East Asia session is no exception. The agenda of the summit revolves around several practical aspects:
Development models integrating tourism and casinos: Not just talking about the IR concept in general, but discussing how to build and operate based on Vietnam's local land policies, foreign investment rules, and visitor structure.
AI-driven personalized marketing: Vietnam has one of the highest mobile internet penetration rates in Southeast Asia. How to use artificial intelligence to analyze tourist and player behavior, achieve precise targeting, and personalized services are the focus of exhibitors.
Payment and compliance infrastructure: For gambling-related businesses in Vietnam, how to navigate payment channels and where the compliance red lines are drawn are practical issues that local experts will explain in detail.
For gambling enterprises that have already experienced the markets in Singapore, Macau, or the Philippines, the SPiCE East Asia Summit might be the most direct one-stop information window for finding a foothold in the emerging Vietnamese market.
The locational value of Ho Chi Minh City itself
Finally, as the economic heart of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City itself carries a quite active business network in Southeast Asia. The short flights from Bangkok, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur make it comfortably convenient, providing natural advantages for attracting core players in the region. In just two or three days, both market research and key networking are accomplished, a deal that any team looking to break into the Vietnamese market would find worthwhile.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
Original deep gambling channel: https://t.me/gamblingdeep
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PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
