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UAE Opens iGaming Market: Licensed Online Casino Play971 Launches
Through the license issued to Coin Technology Projects LLC, the United Arab Emirates now has its first online casino. This is a historic moment for the UAE, and could be the start a hugely competitive iGaming market in the region. The General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority was only launched 2 years ago, and already, there are landbased casinos under construction, as well as a fully registered online casino and sportsbook for players to jump into.
The UAE gambling scene isn’t without its paradoxes – all forms of gambling are strictly illegal based on Sharia law, with heavy fines, penalties and even imprisonment in the worst of cases. However, there is some leeway through the official channels, and top international game vendors seem excited by the move, with many snapping up UAE B2B vendor licenses. Here, we will look at the UAE’s maiden gambling site, brush through the contrasting gambling laws of the land, and see what could be in store ahead.
Play971 Is Launched in the UAE
Coin Technology Projects LLC secured an Internet Gaming License and Sports Wagering License, becoming the first company to get the necessary iGaming licensure and permissions to enter the UAE’s gambling market. The sector is regulated by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, GCGRA, which was founded in September 2023 and oversees gambling and issues UAE licenses in the country.
On November 28, Coin Technology Projects LLC launched Play971, a fully equipped online casino with sports betting functions. The first of its kind, it joins the UAE Lottery, the only other gambling-type site in the federation, which was launched a year prior.
Play971 is only available in 6 of the 7 Emirates:
- Abu Dhabi
- Ajman
- Fujairah
- Ras Al Khaimah
- Umm Al Quwain
Dubai is the only Emirate where Play971 doesn’t operate. We don’t know yet whether that is just a formality or whether the Emirate strictly forbids the online casino. However, the UAE Lottery, run by Momentum, is accessible in Dubai.
What Player971 Offers
While the offering is modest compared to the biggest European, Canadian or American online gaming platforms, Play971 covers all the basics for gamers. It has casino games, sports betting markets, and even live casino games, encompassing the following:
It is live, it is already accepting players, and Play971 has bonuses (named Coupons). There are traditional casino games, themed and branded slots, and featured slots with Megaways or Bonus Buy. Eagle-eyed gamers will note that, in total, there are fewer than 100 games, which is small indeed.
However, it is not clear yet whether this is the entire portfolio of the freshly launched site, or whether more games are going to be added in the near future. Insiders reckon it could be the latter.
Which Software Providers are Available in the UAE
And the reason? Simply because there are so many software providers that have snapped up Vendor Licenses in the UAE. At the time of writing, there are over 15 software providers that are licensed in the UAE.
This means they can legally partner up with Play971 and offer their gaming products. Play971 gets the games, tweaks them to its own RNG algorithms and paytable structures, and once it is fully tested by a UAE approved auditor, the games can hit the shelves.
Now we will note, there is no distinction between iGaming game vendor providers and landbased gaming providers. There is just one “Gaming Related Vendor License” that covers both online and offline operations, and plenty of the operators are primarily landbased game vendors. However, there are a few online gaming specialist studios, including:
- IGT Global: Offers well known online slots and digitalized table games
- Scientific Games: Through its digital arm, Light & Wonder, it creates online slots and RNG table games
- Live88 Online Gaming Services: Makes live dealer games
- Sportradar: Powers online sportsbooks
Others like Konami Gaming, Novomatic (through Greentube), and Aristocrat Technologies Europe (through Anaxi) also make online casino games, but their main area of focus is landbased casino gaming.
Gambling Legislation and Controversies
Gambling in general is illegal in the federation because of Sharia-based law. As well as being a cultural taboo among Muslim residents, there are also fines for participating in online gambling. And not just for operators either. As a player, you can receive a fine of up to 50,000 AED and also up to 2 years in prison for participating in gambling under the Federal Decree Law No. 31/2021. Individuals who run gambling venues or organized gambling rings can face 100,000 AED fines and up to 10 years in prison.
However, the UAE founded the GCGRA in 2023, making a new set of laws to create a legal channel for players. The GCGRA has AML, combating terrorism, anti-fraud, as well as fairness, integrity and legislation on responsible and accountable gambling. Official channels, of which right now you have the UAE Lottery powered by Momentum and Play971, have the same KYC protocols, and they have to provide you with fair responsible gambling tools. The latter include deposit limits, cooling off periods, self monitoring capabilities, and options for self-exclusion.
It is still quite paradoxical, as while regulated gambling is legal, it is not really advertised or talked about publicly. The UAE wants to create a safe space for gamblers – tourists, really, as locals are not allowed to participate – yet maintain its Sharia laws. So it is not abundantly clear nor really well publicized in the country. However, the one area that the UAE iGaming legislation is very clear on is the gray market. Any offshore or international gambling sites that offer their services in any of the 7 Emirates are illegal, and any person who signs up and uses their services is breaking the laws of the land.
UAE Landbased Gambling Market
The online gambling scene is just starting in the UAE, but there is a greater anticipation surrounding the imminent UAE landbased casino market. The Wynn Al Marjan Island project in Ras Al Khaimah is a highly publicized integrated casino resort, which is set to open in 2027. With a 70 story hotel tower, 24 restaurants and diners, and a 225,000 casino floor space, the Wynn Resort casino will hold the landbased gambling monopoly for the next few years following its launch.
It may rival the biggest casinos in Macau, or the most iconic Las Vegas Strip casino resorts. Wynn is the only company that is licensed to run a landbased gaming venue in the UAE, and as of right now, the authorities have not stated whether or not they will consider more suitors in the near future. Wynn won’t stop there either. Recently, Wynn acquired land for a potential second UAE casino resort, 1.5 million square feet of land near the first resort in Ras Al-Khaimah.
Way Forward for the UAE
The UAE’s entrance into gambling is really quite remarkable considering the strict Muslim laws against gambling, and there is virtually no precedent to go on. In Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman there are zero tolerance policies, and to the West in Lebanon, there are just a few state run options. But these are mostly in the North of the country, in the Christian areas.
Another example of a Muslim country with casinos is Morocco. It is forbidden for locals and only offered to tourists, but the biggest Morocco landbased casinos are really sights to behold. There aren’t many, but they are grandiose and have viable options for travelling gamblers.
The UAE, a country that is renowned for its luxury tourism and as an up and coming business hotspot, is looking to expand on its entertainment facilities with these gambling services. While it may never become the same type of gambling Mecca as Vegas, it could build on its already booming luxury tourism. The precedents here will not be Vegas or anything like the biggest European casinos. A good target is to aim for something similar to Singapore or even the Philippines, creating a humble yet luxurious gambling scene for travellers, and enhancing the experiences for travellers.
The launch of an online casino and sportsbook is perhaps just boosting what is already imminent, establishing the gambling scene in the UAE ahead of the highly anticipated Wynn casino resort.
