The first licensed online casino may appear in the UAE

Momentum, the operator of the UAE’s national lottery through its subsidiary “The Game LLC,” has posted job listings on LinkedIn for specialists in the online segment, which could signal the upcoming launch of the country’s first legal iGaming operator. The company is looking for a casino product manager, data analyst, and commercial director to develop the online casino and sports betting sectors.

This news is commented on by Senior Lawyer at SBSB, Roman Baranovskyi:

Recall that until 2023, gambling was completely banned in the UAE, including online casinos. However, in September 2023, the General Authority for Commercial Gaming Regulation (GCGRA) was established, which became responsible for licensing and regulating gambling in the country. Since then, the UAE has issued licenses for land-based casinos, such as the Wynn Resorts project, as well as for lottery activities.

In this particular case, despite Momentum’s attempts to develop the online non-bling sphere in the UAE, it is worth noting that at the moment, not a single license for online gambling has been issued in the country. Wynn Resorts received the first gambling license in the country, but this license only applies to a land-based casino located on Al Marjan Island in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and does not apply to online casinos.

Thus, although Momentum is active in the online gambling sector, there is currently no official online casino license in the UAE, which makes it impossible to operate an online casino in the UAE within the legal framework.

Given the current state of the legislation and the lack of valid online casino licenses, launching such a project in the UAE without the appropriate permission is illegal and may entail legal consequences, including fines and criminal liability. The possible appearance of such a license in the future will depend on the decisions of the GCGRA and the authorities of individual emirates.

However, given the activity of Momentum and its desire to develop the online gaming segment, it can be assumed that in the future, new regulations governing online gambling may be introduced in the UAE, since the local legislator sees a demand for regulation of this niche. In this case, Momentum (and many other companies) will probably strive to obtain an appropriate license and comply with the new legislative requirements. And given the state’s economic focus on tourists and foreign investment, with the right approach, this industry could be very beneficial to local authorities with the right approach to regulation.