UAE gaming industry: the first casino opens on Al Marjan Island in 2027

A new industry has quietly taken shape in the UAE. Operator Play971 launched the country's first legal advertising campaign for betting on international football — licensed and inside the legal framework. The event looks modest, but two and a half years of building a system from scratch sit behind it.

How the regulation works

In September 2023 the UAE created a federal regulator — the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), headed by Jim Murren, former CEO of MGM Resorts. Its task: to build a transparent, digitised commercial gaming market with licensing, biometrics and direct integration with the Central Bank.

• Three licence categories: operators (casinos, lotteries, bookmakers), vendors (IT, fintech, payment solutions) and key company personnel.
• Operating without a GCGRA licence automatically falls under the offence of organising illegal gaming.
• The legal framework is still forming — the Play971 campaign is the system's first real test in operation.

The main point for property — Ras Al Khaimah

Wynn Resorts is building a resort on Al Marjan Island costing around $4 billion, with opening planned for 2027. It will be the first official casino in the country's modern history. GCGRA plans to issue one exclusive licence per emirate — Dubai and Abu Dhabi are next in line.

For Ras Al Khaimah this is an event of the order that the opening of the Palm once was for Dubai. An emirate that sold itself for years as the quiet, affordable alternative gains a world-class anchor and, with it, a fundamentally different tourist flow.

What it means for an investor

• Al Marjan and its surroundings are the epicentre: short-term rental and hospitality gain demand the emirate simply did not have before.
• Prices are already responding. The RAK market began pricing the opening in advance — buying "ahead of the news" has largely already happened here.
• One object is not diversification. A district economy tied to a single anchor is more sensitive to its fate than Dubai's established, multi-purpose market.
• Timing. 2027 is close, but projects of this scale slip; anchor your expectations to confirmed construction milestones.

Based on General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority data and official Wynn Resorts materials.