Deputy chairman of the Vietnam Football Federation, Le Hung Dung disagrees with the proposed limit on the amount of money in international football betting as mentioned in the draft decree that has been submitted to the government.

The draft bill was compiled by the Ministry of Finance years ago but has recently been tendered to the Prime Minister for approval.

Tuoi Tre had an interview with the VFF official about the issue.

What do you think about the limit ranging from VND10,000 – VND1 million (US$48) for a bettor to bet in a day?

I support legalizing football betting. We have been facing troubles in preventing and fighting illegal betting, so legalizing it is the best way to tackle it.

After legalizing it, the legal football betting system will also face harsh competition with the illegal system which has simplified procedures.

Now, all a bettor needs to do with the illegal system is just to make a phone call, send an SMS message, or a click on computer.

So, the legal system must facilitate procedures to encourage bettors. It is the top priority.

In reality, it is common for a bettor now to stake up to billions of dong (VND1 billion = US$48,100) on a bet with the illegal system. So our limit from VND10,000 – VND1 million a day is impractical.

I can assure that few people will come to an agent of the legal system to bet on just VND10,000.

Therefore, I think that we should not impose the limit and hand over the job to bankers.

We should only limit the betting sum based on events. For example, it is unacceptable to put a stake of hundreds of millions of dong on a game of normal leagues, but for other events of the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, World Cup, EURO, the higher betting sum is normal.

Football betting is legal in Hong Kong but the illegal system still well survives as it has simplified procedures that attract bettors.

Should we assign the management job to a qualified banker through the bidding process?

I think it is the best solution in the initial period. We should not manage or operate something that we are still vague about.

I am thinking of the key issue that the State will earn big from taxes after legalizing international football betting.

Many still fear the negative impacts on the community after legalizing it.

This is a different story. As football betting is banned now, many bettors and organizers have been arrested. Many flee with their debts. It is the negative effects.

No one can ensure those negative consequences will not happen if we impose a cap of VND1 million in stakes a day. The issue is that we are considering meeting the need of a large majority of people to gain benefits.