The project will be developed by Van Don Sun Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of Sun Group. It will feature a casino open to both domestic and foreign players—an uncommon allowance in Vietnam’s tightly regulated gaming market.
According to VietNam Net, the 244.45-hectare (2.24 million-square-metre) complex will function as “a self-contained ecosystem.” Alongside luxury hotels, condominiums, and townhouses, the resort will offer shopping and wellness facilities, convention and recreation centers, and round-the-clock entertainment venues.
A 2024 Vietnam Briefing report projects that the nation’s middle class could double by 2026, reaching 26% of the population compared with just 13% in 2023. This rapid expansion, the report notes, will create “significant opportunities for businesses” across sectors, including tourism and gaming.
Not the first casino to welcome Vietnamese
Vietnam has long viewed gambling as a capitalist vice linked to corruption and crime, restricting legal play to state-run lotteries for decades. However, as casinos flourished in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Macau, the country gradually shifted its stance.
In 2019, authorities launched a three-year pilot programme allowing locals to gamble at Corona Resort & Casino on Phu Quoc Island. The trial, later extended to 2024 due to the pandemic, ended last December after the property posted heavy losses—VND300 billion in the first half of 2024—driven partly by a decline in local patronage.
Yet Phu Quoc is experiencing a major tourism rebound. Travel & Leisure named it the world’s second most beautiful island in 2024, after the Maldives. Tourism revenue for the first half of this year soared 92.6% year-on-year, fueling speculation that the government may once again reconsider lifting restrictions on locals’ access to casinos.
Sun Group a major Quang Ninh developer
Sun Group has already delivered several landmark developments in Quang Ninh, including Van Don International Airport, Ha Long International Cruise Port, and a range of resorts and entertainment hubs.
“We are honoured to be entrusted with this flagship project,” said Nguyen Quang Huy, chairman of Sun Group’s Northern Region. “Our commitment is to dedicate all available resources and uphold the highest standards of planning, design, and operations to build an integrated tourism and entertainment destination that showcases Van Don’s historic potential and Quang Ninh’s unique cultural heritage.”
He added that the project aims to provide “unprecedented experiences” for visitors while boosting Quang Ninh’s economy and positioning the Van Don Economic Zone as a new model for tourism and entertainment in Vietnam.
Construction of the Van Don complex is expected to take up to nine years once final site approval is secured.
