The Sun Group is the only operator approved to develop a casino in Vietnam’s Van Don Economic Zone in Quang Ninh province, according to local officials.

On Friday, Vietnam Investment Review reported that the Quang Ninh People’s Committee had replied to a request by the Sun Group, which sought to confirm that it is the only developer that has received approval to operate casino gambling in the region’s special economic zone.

The Sun Group was apparently prompted to seek this confirmation after reports circulated last month that another developer, FLC Group, had received the green light from Quang Ninh officials to build its own $2b integrated resort casino in the Van Don zone.

The April 17 letter from Quang Ninh People’s Committee deputy chair Nguyen Van Thanh unequivocally states that Sun Group “is the province’s strategic developer, and was chosen by the province to report to the prime minister as the only developer of the luxury resort-entertainment complex with a casino, according to the master plan approved by the prime minister, and allowed to pilot allowing Vietnamese citizens to play in the casino.”