UAE reportedly to allow one igaming license per emirate
As the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) of the United Arab Emirates prepares to launch its igaming market, it has been reported that the regulator will offer up to seven online gaming licenses – one for each emirate.
According to a report by Vixio GamblingCompliance, the model follows the brick-and-mortar-based system, allowing one business-to-consumer gaming license per emirate. So far, only one land-based permit, for Wynn’s US$5 billion integrated resort development in Ras Al Khaimah, has been issued.
The Vixio GamblingCompliance report also notes that not all emirates are expected to participate in the rollout, suggesting that the UAE could see only two or three emirates adopt online gaming.
Speaking in a panel session at SBC Summit in Lisbon last month, GCGRA CEO Kevin Mullally addressed the regulator’s approach in the UAE, stating, “Technology should lead, not the regulations, so if you can design a game that uses new concepts, uses reflexive math, combines elements of skill with elements of chance, integrates social media and figures out how to entertain your customers – the operators’ customers – in the best way you can, we will figure out a way to regulate it.”
The recent granting of business-to-business licenses to igaming service providers, including one to an igaming support services provider and another to an aggregator, suggests the GCGRA is ready to issue its first business-to-consumer igaming license. This month, the authority granted two Yolo Group subsidiaries, Hub88 Holding and Live Online Gaming Services, gaming-related vendor licenses.
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The Backstory
Why the UAE’s license map matters now
The United Arab Emirates is edging toward a regulated online gambling market that mirrors its land-based model, with signs pointing to a one-license-per-emirate approach. That structure would cap direct-to-consumer concessions and create scarcity, shaping competition, pricing and the pace of rollouts. It would also reinforce federal oversight while allowing local opt-ins, a hallmark of the country’s measured approach to economic liberalization. The current debate sits atop months of regulatory groundwork, vendor approvals and international cooperation aimed at balancing growth with controls.
Viewed together, early business-to-business permissions, a formal partnership with a mature U.S. regulator and moves by suppliers to align with the new regime suggest the UAE is building a walled-garden ecosystem: centralized rules, limited market access and tight technical and compliance standards. That architecture carries high stakes for operators and investors because it concentrates value in a handful of licenses and elevates the cost of lapses.
Blueprint emerged through early B2B signals
The clearest read on the UAE’s intentions has come from supplier licenses. When Yolo Group’s platform aggregator and live casino arm secured vendor approvals, it signaled the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, or GCGRA, was ready to stand up a tech stack before greenlighting consumer-facing sites. The approvals for aggregation services and a live casino studio — as reported in coverage of Hub88 and Live88’s vendor licenses — showed the regulator prioritizing pipes and controls that operators will depend on.
The Yolo units framed their entrance as a vote of confidence in standards and integrity, and the license scope for a live studio hinted at plans for localized, regulated live dealer content. Importantly, Yolo shuttered gray market brands to qualify for the UAE, underscoring how the new regime is likely to filter out operators and suppliers unwilling to break with unlicensed activity.
More supplier momentum followed. Finland-based Fennica Gaming’s authorization to provide games-as-a-service into the UAE, detailed in reporting on Fennica Gaming’s vendor license, reinforced the GCGRA’s B2B-first sequencing. Together, these moves map the rails for compliance-ready distribution and content before any consumer market opens, consistent with jurisdictions that have sought to maximize oversight and minimize disruption at launch.
Regulatory collaboration points to strict consumer protections
The UAE has also imported expertise. A Memorandum of Understanding between New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement and the GCGRA anchors collaboration on cybersecurity, consumer protection and regulatory implementation. New Jersey’s decade-long online casino track record provides a tested playbook on identity verification, geolocation, payments, advertising controls and responsible gaming programs.
That partnership matters for any one-license-per-emirate model, because density and scale must be matched by guardrails. Expect the UAE to borrow from New Jersey’s rulemaking cadence, including rigorous technical certifications, ongoing audits and intervention tools for problem gambling. It also hints at how the UAE may evaluate live dealer studios and game innovation — the state has extensive experience certifying studios, random number generators and hybrid games at volume.
The upshot: if the UAE issues a limited number of B2C licenses, those rights will likely come with extensive obligations on data security, anti-money-laundering controls and real-time monitoring. That could raise barriers to entry but should also lower systemic risk at launch.
Compliance lessons from abroad shape industry behavior
The cost of missteps in tightly regulated markets is rising, a reality that is shaping corporate decisions ahead of any UAE go-live. In the Philippines, a licensing setback for a partner tied to a major supplier rattled investors and served as a compliance cautionary tale. As outlined in reporting on Evolution’s shares sliding after a Philippine partner lost a license, regulators revoked a gaming system administrator license over know-your-customer failures, even as a separate studio license remained intact. Shares fell as much as nearly six percent intraday.
The episode shows how B2B and B2C permissions can be disentangled by regulators, with enforcement calibrated to specific failings. For UAE-bound firms, it is a reminder that vendor and operator licenses will likely be independently conditioned and subject to swift action. The message from Manila will resonate in Abu Dhabi: operational discipline is nonnegotiable, and capital markets will price compliance risk quickly.
Global momentum adds pressure to formalize online channels
The UAE’s measured path sits within a broader shift toward regulated online betting. Statehouses and regulators worldwide are retooling rules to channel demand into licensed platforms with tax collection and player protections. In the United States, even historically cautious markets are moving. A bipartisan proposal in Wisconsin would let tribal casinos extend wagering beyond retail properties via digital platforms tethered to tribal servers, according to coverage of Wisconsin’s online sports betting bill. The carve-out preserves sovereignty while acknowledging consumer preference for mobile betting.
For the UAE, where local sensibilities and federal cohesion drive policy, such examples reinforce a middle path: limited licenses, centralized oversight and strict compliance, with flexibility for emirates to opt in or stand aside. The likely result is a staged rollout that tests systems, calibrates responsible gaming tools and scales only where political will and infrastructure align.
What a one-license-per-emirate plan would mean
If the UAE proceeds with a one-per-emirate B2C model, expect immediate strategic positioning. Global brands may seek partnerships with local champions or with early licensed suppliers like the Hub88 aggregation network to secure content and distribution. Content providers such as Fennica Gaming will compete to be included in early catalogs, while live casino capacity and localization could become points of differentiation.
Scarcity will likely push valuations higher for any awarded B2C rights and intensify scrutiny on responsible gaming measures, marketing and data governance. Not all emirates may participate at first, which could concentrate early activity in two or three jurisdictions and require cross-border technical controls to manage spillover demand. The New Jersey partnership suggests the GCGRA will be prepared with tools to police those boundaries.
The stakes are significant: a successful launch could unlock a new regional hub for regulated online gambling, drawing investment in studios, payments, cybersecurity and analytics across the Gulf. Missteps, by contrast, could slow approvals and tighten the regulatory screws. Early vendor licensing, international collaboration and industry de-risking moves point to the former — a deliberate build that favors compliance-ready entrants willing to play by the UAE’s rules.
