A new decree released by the Vietnam government on Friday, allows Vietnamese punters to bet on international football matches from the end of March, according to local sources.

While there are some 30 casinos and electronic gaming parlors in Vietnam, prior to the recent changes in the law, Vietnamese citizens have been prohibited from all forms of gambling unless they possess a foreign passport.

From March 31, 2017, the pilot program will permit Vietnamese citizens aged 21 or older to wager on international football matches which are recognized by FIFA and approved by the sports ministry in Vietnam. The decree does not permit online betting and bookmakers are required to be situated no closer than 500 meters from schools and venues with children. According to the decree, depending on the sport offered, strict capital requirements will also have to be met by bookmaking operators, including VND 300 billion for greyhound racing and VND 1 trillion for football and horse racing, according to local media reports.

Those wagering will also need to meet a minimum bet value of VND1,000 (US$0.04) and not exceed VND1 million (US$44), the daily maximum limit. Another condition includes a bidding process where the Vietnamese government will select a single football wagering provider for a trial phase for a five-year period, according to the news agency.

The football betting news piggybacks the long-awaited decree published by the Vietnam government on Friday confirming a three-year pilot program which allows Vietnamese citizens aged 21 or older with stable regular monthly incomes in excess of 10 million dong (~$445) to gamble in certain casinos in the country from March 15, 2017.