Online Betting in Vietnam 2026: Laws, Licences and What's Changing

Vietnam's sports betting landscape is in transition. The broad prohibition on gambling that has defined this market for decades is cracking — not through liberalisation exactly, but through a slow and contested process of regulatory reform that began with a 2018 legal change and has been inching forward ever since. The result is a market in limbo: limited legal options that remain inaccessible to most bettors, a reform process that keeps stalling, and an offshore market so large it accounts for tens of millions of users. 

Football is the axis around which all of this turns. Vietnamese people are among the most passionate football fans in Southeast Asia. The Premier League, Champions League, and V.League all command serious attention, and the demand for odds-based football betting is enormous. The legal system hasn't caught up with that demand — yet. Decree 06/2017 created a framework for licensed sports betting but constrained it so heavily (a maximum of 1 million VND per day, equivalent to roughly $40) that uptake was minimal. The Ministry of Finance has been drafting replacement legislation, and a 2025 draft decree proposed raising the daily limit to 10 million VND — but as of 2026, nothing has been finalised. 

If you're a Vietnamese bettor trying to understand your options, this guide lays out exactly where things stand: what's legal, what's in progress, and what the offshore market looks like.

The honest answer is: partly, narrowly, and with significant caveats. 

Vietnam's National Assembly legalised betting on football and horse racing in 2018 under the Law on Physical Education, which came into effect under Decree 06/2017. In theory, Vietnamese citizens can bet legally on football through licensed providers, and on horse racing at licensed tracks. In practice, this framework is extraordinarily limited: 

The Ministry of Finance was actively drafting a new decree as of late 2025 to replace the existing framework. The proposals included raising the daily limit to 10 million VND, expanding the scope of permitted sports, and opening pathways for more licensed operators. As of mid-2026, that decree has not been enacted. The reform process is real but slow, and Vietnamese bettors should not assume the new rules are in force until official confirmation. 

For all other forms of sports betting, including online betting at offshore sites, Vietnamese law is clear: it is prohibited. Offshore operators are not licensed by Vietnamese authorities, and Vietnamese citizens using them are technically in breach of the law. Enforcement is sporadic but prosecution is possible.

Vietnam's licensed sportsbook market remains underdeveloped. The operators that do hold licences operate under strict constraints and serve a small slice of the total betting demand. The offshore market — led by 1xBet, bet365, William Hill, M88, and Dafabet — absorbs the vast majority of football betting action from Vietnamese users. 

M88 and Dafabet are both operators specifically built around Asian football markets and are particularly popular in Vietnam due to their Vietnamese-language interfaces, Asian handicap market depth, and familiarity with local payment preferences. 1xBet has made significant inroads partly through aggressive marketing during football broadcasts. bet365 and William Hill bring their international credibility and deep market coverage. 

As the regulatory landscape evolves, this section will reflect any newly licensed operators entering the Vietnamese market. Until then, the distinction between licensed (legal, narrow, low-limit) and offshore (illegal, widespread, higher-stakes) remains the defining feature of this market. 

See our full ranked list above — each operator has been reviewed and rated by the WhichCasino team.

Given the developing regulatory environment, choosing a betting site as a Vietnamese bettor requires more careful thought than in a fully regulated market. The criteria below reflect the specific realities of this market.