The UAE Prepares To Legalize Gambling With New Regulatory Body

Abu Dhabi CNN -
With its glitzy luxury resorts and a world-renowned horse racing market, the United Arab Emirates quickly might have a new card to play in attracting visitors - gambling.


The UAE presented a brand-new regulative body to oversee business video gaming on Monday, comprised of gambling establishment and betting professionals from the United States. Gambling is currently prohibited in the UAE, where some laws are based upon the Quran, which forbids the practice.


The brand-new federal body, called the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), would develop a "regulatory framework for a nationwide lottery and commercial gaming," according to Emirati state media WAM.


" [GCGRA will] help with opening the financial capacity of commercial gaming responsibly," WAM said.


Industry veterans Kevin Mullally and Jim Murren have actually been employed for crucial roles as CEO and chair respectively in the GCGRA, according to WAM.


The two executives have a combined 32 years of experience in the betting industry according to LinkedIn - Murren is the previous CEO of MGM Resorts International (MGM), while Mullally held various positions at Gaming Laboratories International.


"I anticipate establishing a robust regulative body and structure for the UAE's lottery game and video gaming market," Mullally stated on his new visit, according to WAM.


Last year, casino operator Wynn Resorts inked a deal to develop a luxury resort in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates with a "video gaming location." A declaration by Wynn Resorts (WYNN) did not elaborate on whether gambling would be included, but Craig Billings, CEO of Wynn Hotels, told investors in an earnings get in touch with August 9 that the resort anticipates to have a license for video gaming operations in Ras Al "imminently."


"There need to be no issue that there is a broader legalization procedure in order for gaming to take place because property," Billings informed investors.


Global gambling establishment business Caesars Entertainment (CZR) has run a non-gambling hotel in Dubai given that 2018.


Legalized gambling in the UAE would likely be of interest to cruise liners such as MSC and Royal Caribbean Cruise, which regular the UAE's ports with casinos on board. But gambling is prohibited in UAE waters, so gambling establishments are restricted from operating while docked, according to Costa Cruises and Oceania's FAQ pages.


Dubai prides itself as the "cruise hub of the area," harboring 1,750 cruise liner each year. The UAE's capital Abu Dhabi saw a record variety of 700,000 cruise travelers between May 2022 and 2023.


Overall tourism currently represents 9% of the UAE's GDP. If 1.6% of the UAE's GDP was based on video gaming - as it remains in Singapore - it would bring in $6.6 billion dollars of income every year, Bloomberg experts reported on Monday.