The coastal city of Da Nang has become the first port in Vietnam at which international cruise ships can continue offering casino services while docked.

The Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a press conference on Wednesday to urge municipal administrators not to take any action against cruise ships that keep their onboard casinos open while docked in Da Nang’s Tien Sa Port.

International cruise ships have traditionally shuttered their onboard casinos while docking in Vietnamese ports, but it’s not completely clear why. As quoted by Tuoi Tre News, the department’s deputy director Tran Chi Cuong told reporters that his office had found “no rules that require foreign ships to close certain services when docking in Vietnam.”

The intention behind the directive is to allow shipboard passengers the full range of their ship’s entertainment options if they choose not to disembark and explore their latest port of call. Cuong said the ultimate goal was to encourage more cruise lines to put Da Nang on their transit list.

The coastal city of Da Nang has become the first port in Vietnam at which international cruise ships can continue offering casino services while docked.

The Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a press conference on Wednesday to urge municipal administrators not to take any action against cruise ships that keep their onboard casinos open while docked in Da Nang’s Tien Sa Port.

International cruise ships have traditionally shuttered their onboard casinos while docking in Vietnamese ports, but it’s not completely clear why. As quoted by Tuoi Tre News, the department’s deputy director Tran Chi Cuong told reporters that his office had found “no rules that require foreign ships to close certain services when docking in Vietnam.”

The intention behind the directive is to allow shipboard passengers the full range of their ship’s entertainment options if they choose not to disembark and explore their latest port of call. Cuong said the ultimate goal was to encourage more cruise lines to put Da Nang on their transit list.

Greece has confirmed that it will proceed with plans to revise its online gambling licensing regime to ensure new revenue streams for the cash-strapped government.

On Thursday, Greece’s Deputy Finance Minister Tryfon Alexiadis (pictured) informed parliament that the government intended to proceed with its plans to issue new online gambling licenses, 10 months after first announcing the plans.

Alexiadis said the government had finally had enough of the old licensing regime, under which the previous administration had issued 24 temporary licenses in 2011. These licenses were revoked the following year in what was perceived as a shameless attempt to boost the value of the government’s one-third stake in the OPAP betting monopoly before flogging that stake on the open market.

The botched licensing regime has been the subject of much legal wrangling between spurned operators, the Greek government and the European Commission. Not surprisingly, these 24 operators haven’t felt much responsibility to ante up a share of their Greek market revenue to the government. Alexiadis told parliament that the government’s total take from these operators has been less than €60k over the past three years.

Greece has confirmed that it will proceed with plans to revise its online gambling licensing regime to ensure new revenue streams for the cash-strapped government.

On Thursday, Greece’s Deputy Finance Minister Tryfon Alexiadis (pictured) informed parliament that the government intended to proceed with its plans to issue new online gambling licenses, 10 months after first announcing the plans.

Alexiadis said the government had finally had enough of the old licensing regime, under which the previous administration had issued 24 temporary licenses in 2011. These licenses were revoked the following year in what was perceived as a shameless attempt to boost the value of the government’s one-third stake in the OPAP betting monopoly before flogging that stake on the open market.

The botched licensing regime has been the subject of much legal wrangling between spurned operators, the Greek government and the European Commission. Not surprisingly, these 24 operators haven’t felt much responsibility to ante up a share of their Greek market revenue to the government. Alexiadis told parliament that the government’s total take from these operators has been less than €60k over the past three years.