Content Writer: Janice Chew • Monday, 25/10/2025 - 23:19:05 - PM
The federal regulator General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) in the United Arab Emirates is reportedly preparing to issue a single B2C online gaming licence per emirate — one for each of the country’s seven emirates — mirroring the land-based casino model currently being rolled out. Industry sources say each emirate may decide whether to participate, so while the cap is set at seven licences (one per emirate), not all may be taken up.
The strategy echoes the land-based pathway already underway: to date only one land-based casino licence has been issued (to Wynn Resorts for its integrated resort in Ras Al Khaimah), and speculation is that just a few of the seven emirates will opt-in for online operations. According to the report by Vixio GamblingCompliance, the GCGRA has already granted several vendor licences (for B2B suppliers), signalling that the online operator licence phase may be imminent.
From a regulatory perspective, this approach offers several advantages. It enables managed rollout — limiting operator count, providing clearer oversight per emirate, and aligning with consumer-protection and integrity frameworks already under GCGRA’s jurisdiction. For operators, the UAE presents a comparatively “green-field” regulated market: favourable tax frameworks, large purchasing-power expatriate population, and tourism ambitions.
However, there are caveats and questions: whether all emirates will take up their licence opportunity; how the market will address cross-emirate online flows; how resident vs tourist access will be managed; and how quickly online operations will launch relative to the land-based timeline. The limited pool of operator licences may drive competition and premium contexts, but also raises the stakes for successful applicants. Analysts anticipate that at most two or three emirates may opt-in for online gaming initially, rather than all seven.
In terms of timing, given the vendor-licensing wave already in progress (for gaming-platforms, sports-data firms etc) the operator licence roll-out could happen within the next year or two. Support infrastructure (payments, geolocation, AML/KYC) is being actively constructed. For prospective global operators considering entry: aligning with local partners, ensuring technical readiness, and meeting GCGRA’s integrity/responsibility requirements will be key.