According to Huynh Vinh Ai, deputy chairman of the committee, the compilation board has suffered strong pressure from society, but also received support from a majority of people in this connection. A number of options on management and operations of football betting have been taken into account to avoid negative impact on society.

Mr Ai added that the project's primary target is not to earn revenues from organised betting, but to reduce illegal betting.

According to experts, the project is highly feasible because Vietnam is a large market with a young population. Once the project is underway, football betting may attract several million people and add hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dongs annually to the State budget, which could be re-invested to create fresh impetus for local sports, including football, to develop.