As Vietnam considers harsher punishments for illegal gambling, some politicians are urging the government to reconsider gambling’s legal status.

Vietnam, which outlawed the ‘social evil’ of gambling back in 1948, is currently weighing a proposal that would increase the severity of punishments on illegal gambling activities. Under the existing Penal Code, gamblers caught wagering stakes over VND 2m (US $88) face prison sentences starting at a minimum of three months.

The new plan would let many gamblers off the hook by boosting the stakes threshold at which charges would be filed to VND 5m. However, the proposal also calls for minimum prison sentences to be raised to one year. In cases where the stakes are over VND 50m ($2,220), convictions would result in minimum sentences of three years in prison.

But Thanh Nien News reported that some lawmakers are suggesting it’s time for a rethink of whether gambling really was a social evil. Noting that the 1948 law had failed to reduce gambling prevalence, Pham Xuan Thuong, who represents the northern province of Thai Binh, suggested a better solution would be to “organize gambling activities in a more sensible and manageable way.”