UAE Introduced Legal Gambling Regulations, Paving the Way for Casino Licenses

The UAE’s General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) website, which previously required a password in order to gain access, is now open to view and lays out the country’s plans for gaming moving forward, including casino machines, table games, and lottery licenses.

The website form, which is used to apply for a gaming license, allows users to choose from any of the seven emirates, which could help increase tourism to less famous parts of the country, diversifying beyond the ever-popular Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The purpose of the GCGRA, as they themselves claim, is to regulate everything from lotteries and internet gaming to sports betting and land-based casinos. The regulations relating to land-based casinos would include any and all games that are played within, such as table and slot games, while internet gaming may even extend to eSports, fantasy games, and sweepstakes-style platforms.

As it stands, only one license has been approved so far, which is a lottery license currently held by The Game LLC, which will operate under the banner of the UAE Lottery, although we would expect this to change massively over the coming years.

Now that the licensing framework has been published and the process has started to gain traction, we should see properties begin to be granted licenses, although they will be required to appoint key personnel to ensure the “implementation and maintenance of socially responsible gaming efforts”, while they must also be a “qualifying domestic entity” or have a relationship with one.

While things may change in the time between now and then, it’s widely expected that Wynn Al Marjan Island will be the first to be granted a gaming license, despite it not being set to open until 2027. However, Atlantis Dubai and the upcoming MGM Dubai may steal the lead and be the first to gain the historic license, although we wouldn’t expect any of them to be the last.

Wynn Resorts CEO Craig Billings has this to say in 2023:

“We and our partners are in active discussions around those adjacent parcels [of land] and I expect additional hotels will act as a powerful feeder to Wynn Al Marjan Island.”

With such strong words from Wynn Resorts and others close to the other ongoing projects, it’s fair to say that this isn’t something that will be slowing down any time soon, especially with the strict measures put in place to help placate those within the country that may be opposed on moral or religious grounds.