Quietly does it
The United Arab Emirates has rolled out licensed online betting platforms on the down low, allowing residents and visitors to gamble legally for the first time.
no law yet being published to legalize gambling in the Emirates”
This historic turn of events is significant for the region and broader Arabic affairs, with the UAE sanctioning multiple online betting sites recently “despite no law yet being published to legalize gambling in the Emirates.”
Arabian Gulf Business Insight (AGBI) reported that the licensed entity is a sub-brand of the UAE lottery operator, Momentum Corporate Services. The UAE General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) has granted a license to Coin Technology Projects’ online betting and casino platform Play 971, which rolled out on Monday.
Play 971 offers markets on sports from the UEFA Champions League, the English Premier League, and horse racing, to online casino games such as roulette and blackjack.
Wheels already in motion
According to reports, the GCGRA granted Play 971 its license before going live on November 28 and the Momentum brand “may have been operating under a trial rollout in parts of the UAE prior to Monday.”
AGBI reports Coin Technology had also quietly rolled out two other iGaming platforms prior to Play 971. TrueWin and Dream Island both feature casino and sports betting sections, with the former including live dealer games, poker, roulette, and slots, and the latter soccer, tennis, basketball, horse-racing and other sports.
The New Arab, meanwhile, reported on Monday it was able to access Play 971 via a VPN “as it is only available from within the UAE.” The news site added that Emirati citizens “may be required to meet additional conditions set by their home emirate before registering.”
The soft launch of legalized online betting in the UAE dovetails with the Kingdom’s plan to launch its first casino run by US giant Wynn Resorts in 2027. Wynn has reportedly already invested $835m in Wynn Al Marjan Island, with a further $525m planned.
Regional change
The UAE’s full-on embrace of gambling reveals, according to Cognitive Market Research, that the vertical is expanding across the region. While the Middle East and Africa make up just 2% of global gambling revenue, the market is expected to grow by 3.7% annually between 2024 and 2031. The Gulf region the UAE is in, however, is forecast to grow by 4.5% over that same timeframe.
a surge in online gambling among young people in Algeria”
New Arab cited an investigative piece by its Arabic language sister Al Araby Al Jadeed that revealed “a surge in online gambling among young people in Algeria.” The spike in gambling in the North African Arabic-speaking country was attributed to “aggressive campaigns by betting companies” with soccer “frequently used as an entry point to draw users.”
