Five decrees in effect in late March 2017

1. Betting on horse racing, greyhound racing and international soccer

On January 24, 2017, the government promulgated the Decree No. 06/2017/ND-CP on betting on horse racing, greyhound racing and international soccer.

Betting on horse racing, greyhound racing and international soccer is subject to the following requirements:

- Bettors shall be at least 21 year olds and have full legal capacity as prescribed by law.

- Each wager must not be less than VND 10,000 and must not exceed VND 1,000,000/bettor/day on each type of bet placed through a bet-organizing enterprise.

- The payout can be made at fixed level or be subject to revenue or is a combination of these two methods.

- Bet tickets may be issued in form of papers or electronic data depending on the selling methods.

Decree No. 06/2017/ND-CP takes effect as of March 31, 2017.

2. Ministries required to disclose information to the press at least once every 3 months

Such content is defined in the Decree No. 09/2017/ND-CP on state administrative agencies’ speakers, policy of speech and disclosure of information to the press.

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government authorities and provincial People’s Committees shall hold press conferences to disclose periodical information to the press at least once every three months.

In addition, the agencies can provide the press with information on their activities, sectors and administrative divisions via the following methods:

+ Provide and update periodical information to the press on their e-portals or websites.

+ Provide periodical information to the press in writing or directly at weekly press meetings.

+ Provide information promptly and precisely via the e-portal of the government as per regulations.

Decree No. 09/2017/ND-CP takes effect as of March 30, 2017.

3. Procedure for collection of news publications into the electronic legal deposit

On February 08, 2017, the government promulgated the Decree No. 08/2017/ND-CP on the legal deposit of audio-visual and electronic materials of news by the central body responsible for state management of the press.

The following procedure applies to the collection of audio-visual and electronic materials of news into the electronic legal deposit:

+ The agency in charge of electronic legal deposit shall notify the entities producing audio-visual or electronic materials of news in writing of the method, time and location of connection.

+ In no more than 10 working days upon receiving the notification, an entity producing audio-visual or electronic news materials shall revert in writing and come to terms with the electronic legal deposit agency with respect to the connection.

+ The electronic legal deposit agency shall verify the storage of the materials in the system and issue a confirmation to the news agency 15 days after its intake of the materials.

+ The electronic legal deposit agency shall retain the news materials in original condition and sort their contents for management.

Decree No. 08/2017/ND-CP takes effect as of March 30, 2017.

4. The organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport is expanded with the new Department of Public Private Partnership pursuant to the Decree No. 12/2017/ND-CP in effect as of March 26, 2017.

5. Decree No. 13/2017/ND-CP , in effect as of March 26, 2017, defines the functions, missions, authority and organizational structure of the Committee for Ethnic Affairs.