The Vietnamese lottery has been reaffirmed as a vital source of government revenue in the Southeast Asian nation.
According to various local media outlets including VN Express International and Vietnam.vn, the Vietnamese lottery has generated over VND 439trn (circa £12.7bn) for the government over the past 13 years.
It generated over VDN 57trn in 2025 alone, and is a major employer in the country to the tune of some 500,000 people.
Vietnam’s National Statistics Office put 2025 GDP at VND just under VND 13qdr (£377bn). This would make the National Lottery account for around 0.40% of Vietnam’s GDP during 2025.
Citing Finance Ministry reports, local Vietnamese media also report that Vietnamese citizens spending on the lottery has grown at an average of 10.2% over the past 13 years, rising by 10% to VND 177.2bn in 2025.
Over the 13 year period between 2013-2025, Vietnamese spend some VND 1.37qd on lottery tickets.
There is a regional disparity, however, with the vast majority of lottery spend occurring in the south of the country. The south amounts to around 87% of total lottery spend, followed by the central region and then the north.
This may have roots in the economic differences between the regions, with Southern Vietnam being the commercial and financial hub of the country, and therefore being a region where citizens may have more disposable income to spend on things like lottery tickets.
Vietnam’s lottery is a mix of nationwide and regional lotteries. The nationwide product, Vietlott, is owned and operated by the Finance Ministry, and functions in a similar way to other national lotteries seen around the world.
Below the National Lottery are 63-run lottery companies. These function, as their name suggests, similar to the state or provincial lotteries seen in nations like the US, Canada, Australia and Brazil.
Gambling is tightly controlled in Vietnam – sports betting is only allowed on international football matches, horse racing and greyhound racing, and casinos do exist but are only accessible for foreign residents.
As such, the lottery system has flourished as the primary form of gambling for Vietnamese citizens, and the sector’s position in the economy – both as a contributor to GDP and an employer – has been well cemented.