In order to open casinos, the UAE has established a special regulatory government department called the General Commercial Gambling Regulatory Authority (GCGRA).
The establishment of this agency means that all matters related to gambling and casinos within the UAE will be managed by this department, previously everyone's focus was on the Wynn Resorts casino on Ras Al Marjan Island.
Wynn Resorts has also obtained a casino license issued by the GCGRA, and the current construction progress is very smooth.
After reviewing the official explanation of the GCGRA, especially the gambling content it regulates.
Actually, there are four types of licenses:
The GCGRA has outlined four types of gambling activities that it will regulate, which include:
Lottery: Players purchase tickets for a chance to win prizes based on random draws.
Internet Gaming: This includes a wide array of online games such as bingo, casino games (like slots and poker), eSports, fantasy sports, and other skill-based games.
Sports Wagering: Legal betting on various sports events, such as football, basketball, and horse racing, conducted through licensed bookmakers.
Land-Based Gaming Facilities: Physical establishments offering traditional casino games.
(Lottery, sports betting, traditional physical casinos, online gaming)
The license for physical casinos was given to Wynn.
The license for the lottery was given to thegamellc.
Recently, a piece of news that many people have overlooked is:
The GCGRA suddenly issued three more gambling licenses.
One was given to Aristocrat Technologies Europe (Holdings) Ltd., a company specializing in casino equipment, such as slot machines and roulette machines, making both hardware and software.
One was given to Smartplay International Inc., a globally renowned company that makes lottery drawing equipment.
The third was given to a local UAE payment company, PAYBY.
This company specializes in payments, similar to "WeChat Pay" and "Alipay" in the Middle East.
PayBy falls under the category of "Gambling-Related Supplier License" and has now been authorized to provide financial services to gambling operators licensed by the GCGRA. This is an important step in the development and regulation of the gambling industry in the UAE.
What does the issuance of two licenses to Aristocrat and PAYBY mean?
The future of online gambling in the UAE might progress faster than anticipated, possibly even outpacing the process of offline physical casinos, as the only difficulty with online gambling is the legal risk, while technology, platforms, and payment channels are already in place. The licenses obtained by these two companies mean that compliance risks have been largely resolved, with Aristocrat handling the platform and PAYBY managing the payment channels.
It is well known that the UAE is very welcoming of cryptocurrency policies. With PAYBY obtaining a license from the GCGRA, there is a possibility that future casinos in the UAE might support cryptocurrency payments.
While searching for related information, it was found that PAYBY has already started to provide payment channels for some cryptocurrency exchanges.
Returning to the topic of PAYBY, the company was acquired by Astra Tech in 2022, and then in 2024, Astra Tech was acquired by G42, meaning that after these two rounds of acquisitions, PAYBY has transformed into a state-owned enterprise.
In this wave of opening casinos in the UAE, Ras Al Khaimah benefited from having a casino, PAYBY is owned by G42, and the payment and KYC systems are also made by FAB, which means the benefits go to Abu Dhabi. So, what's next?
GCGRA Chairman JIM MURREN mentioned in a recent media interview about the gambling process in the UAE, he said:
The government is very cautious, it might not be so fast.
What does the opening process of the entire gambling industry depend on?
The various emirates and family factions have come to the time to sit down and divide the spoils. No matter how outsiders urge or shout, it's useless. We have to wait for the princes to divide the cake completely, how much your family takes, how much his family occupies, after everything is negotiated, then the curtain will finally open. This process will see many people entering the scene and many leaving.
Let's look forward to it together!
