Industry update • Vietnam • Published: December 29, 2025
Sun Group Breaks Ground on US$2B Resort in Vietnam — What Online Game Operators Should Watch
Table of Contents
Quick summary
Sun Group has commenced construction on a major integrated resort in Vietnam with a casino component targeted to open in 2028 and full project completion expected across multiple phases by 2034. The development aims to boost inbound and domestic tourism and is being pursued under Vietnam’s pilot framework that may allow Vietnamese nationals to play at selected casinos. For online game operators, the primary implications are regulatory change, travel-driven acquisition windows and a need to harden payments, KYC and fraud controls.
Why online-only operators should care
Even if your business is 100% web-based, a large onshore gaming project in Vietnam changes market dynamics that affect acquisition, retention, compliance and revenue. Key impacts to monitor and act on include:
- Larger addressable market (potential) — extensions or clarifications of Vietnam’s pilot rules could increase domestic player eligibility and lifetime value for Vietnam-focused cohorts.
- Travel windows become digital acquisition windows — new flight routes and tourism marketing tied to the resort create predictable peaks you can exploit with geo- and time-targeted paid acquisition and reactivation campaigns.
- Content & promo hooks — resort milestones (groundbreaking, soft opening, grand opening) create marketing moments: Van Don / Vietnam-themed tournaments, limited-time drops and milestone leaderboards drive activation and reactivation.
- Payments, KYC & compliance readiness — increased local-play activity typically brings more scrutiny on payment rails, identity verification and transaction monitoring. Integrating compliant eKYC and local payment methods early reduces onboarding friction.
- Cross-vertical affiliate opportunities — travel and tourism campaigns open new affiliate pathways (travel bloggers, regional publishers and SEA ad partners) for cost-effective user acquisition.
Recommended online-only operator actions (90-day & 12-month playbook)
Immediate (0–90 days)
- Regulatory monitoring: assign legal/compliance to track draft decrees and policy changes affecting local-player access (deposit rules, entry fees, financial-capacity requirements).
- Payments & eKYC audit: audit current payment rails and eKYC flows; add local payment options where feasible and test onboarding for low friction while retaining AML controls.
- Ad creative bank: prepare geo-localized creatives for NE-Asia and target domestic cities with travel origins (short headlines and milestone hooks).
Next (3–12 months)
- Geo/time-target acquisition campaigns: plan campaigns that align with travel peak windows (route launches, holidays). Use short bursts with elevated CPA bids in origin markets.
- Event calendar: schedule Van Don-themed tournaments, limited drops and leaderboards to coincide with publicized resort milestones to maximize PR-driven interest.
- Affiliate partnerships: brief travel/tourism affiliates and regional publishers on campaign mechanics and tracking. Offer short-term elevated CPA for travel-window traffic.
- Product prototypes for local players: design prepaid, capped-play and low-ticket bundles that can be toggled in region-specific deployments to comply with potential restrictions.
- Risk & fraud tuning: prepare dynamic risk thresholds for deposit velocity, cross-border payment flows and suspicious account behaviour ahead of acquisition spikes.
Three digital campaign ideas (ready to run)
- Milestone Tournaments: 7–14 day Van Don-themed tournaments (low buy-ins, leaderboard prizes and digital goods) timed to construction/opening milestones. Promote across paid social, email and affiliates.
- Geo-Flight Pushes: run targeted acquisition windows in feeder origin cities whenever new routes or charters are announced, with tailored creative and limited-time registration bonuses.
- Travel Affiliate Bundle: partner with travel content creators to embed promo codes and track registrations; measure incremental revenue via UTM and adjust CPA offers.
Technical & compliance checklist
- Payment integrations: add locally preferred payment methods and ensure seamless reconciliation across currencies and rails.
- eKYC: implement fast identity verification with fallback manual review workflows to maintain conversion while meeting AML/KYC requirements.
- Transaction monitoring: instrument real-time alerts for velocity, chargeback patterns and unusual cross-border flows.
- Data localisation & privacy: confirm how local-player data will need to be stored and processed under Vietnamese rules or partner jurisdiction requirements.
- Legal readiness: prepare templated T&Cs and localized user disclosures for Vietnam-specific offerings and deposit caps.
Risks & caveats
- Regulatory uncertainty: draft decrees and final policy decisions could change the economics and eligibility for local players (age limits, financial proof, entry fees or caps).
- Market timing: integrated resorts are long-lead assets — meaningful onshore spillover to online channels may materialize only once openings and transport links are fully active.
- Reputational & compliance exposure: increased local activity means greater public scrutiny. Operators must balance growth with robust compliance and responsible gaming safeguards.
- Environmental & community sentiment: large coastal developments often attract environmental and local community attention; this can affect PR windows and market sentiment.
KPIs to track
- Geo-specific CAC & ROI: monitor cost-per-acquisition by origin market and by travel-window cohort.
- New-registration LTV: compare cohort LTV for users from targeted travel-origin geos vs baseline markets.
- Onboarding conversion rate: track eKYC pass rates and time-to-first-deposit for local-player cohorts.
- Affiliate performance: measure incremental revenue and retention from travel/tourism affiliate traffic vs baseline affiliates.
- Risk metrics: chargeback rate, suspicious-account rate and deposit velocity during campaign spikes.
Conclusion
Sun Group’s US$2 billion development in Vietnam is primarily a physical resort project, but its commercial and regulatory ripple effects create an early-mover window for online-only game operators. Potential local-player access, travel-driven acquisition spikes and new affiliate pathways mean operators who prepare now — focusing on regulatory monitoring, payments/eKYC readiness and geo-targeted acquisition — will be best positioned to capture high-value cohorts as they emerge.
