Vietnamese dong (officially “đồng”) is the principal currency of Vietnam and has been since it was launched in 1978 by the State Bank of Vietnam. Officially, an earlier version of the dong was already in use in both North and South Vietnam when it replaced the piastre of French Indonesia. As the world’s third weakest currency, dong is not particularly valuable, and yet it has a significant following in the Asian online gambling sector, mainly due to its ease of access.
Most Asian and VND online casinos tend to be licensed out of Curacao or the Philippines, so you must be careful about which ones you join. To help you make the most of your experience and ensure that you end up playing at the most trusted Vietnamese dong casinos, we’ve put together a list of reputable sites below.
Vietnamese dong casinos often cater not just to players in Vietnam but those based across Asia. The currency is relatively easy to obtain, and despite being rather weak, it is used by plenty of Asians to bet with. In 1960, one USD was worth 97₫, rising to 2,050₫ in 1980, 6,500₫ in 1990, and 14,428₫ by the turn of the millennium. This trajectory hasn’t changed. To date, a single US dollar is worth roughly 23,110₫, so it can be tricky to wrap your head around the value of this currency if you don’t know it very well.
The current currency was introduced in 1985 when one new dong was worth ten of the old dong. However, chronic inflation has persisted. The removal of coins and the sole use of notes was aimed at making dong less costly to mint, but this has made only a marginal impact. Apart from online gamblers in Asian countries aside from Vietnam, the dong is only really used inside its home country.
Vietnam is not a friendly country when it comes to gambling. Officially, only tourists and foreign nationals can gamble in the country, with the lottery the only form of accepted, legal gambling in Vietnam. However, while the government is focused on eradicating illegal gambling ventures inside the country, they don’t seem overly concerned about what happens outside of its borders.
The Vietnamese dong is accepted by most payment providers, and a good number of these operate at offshore, international casinos that cater to players in Vietnam. Moreover, Vietnamese banks are known for processing gambling-related transactions, assuming they are for players betting at these offshore domains.
Amongst the most common options for Vietnamese casino players are…