{"id":777033987,"date":"2025-10-31T11:02:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T14:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777033987"},"modified":"2026-04-21T17:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:34:18","slug":"gaming-regulator-expects-up-to-four-casinos-in-united-arab-emirates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/gaming-regulator-expects-up-to-four-casinos-in-united-arab-emirates","title":{"rendered":"Gaming regulator expects up to four casinos in United Arab Emirates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jim Murren, chairman of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, says the UAE market could surpass that of Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

United Arab Emirates.- The chair of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA)<\/strong> has suggested that more casinos in the United Arab Emirates could be the horizon. Speaking at the Skift Global Forum East<\/strong>, Jim Murren<\/strong> said he expects between two and four integrated resorts to open in the country in the next five to ten years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the market here in the UAE will be bigger than Singapore<\/strong>,\u201d Murren said, noting that any further casinos would be in emirates other than Ras Al Khaimah, where Wynn Resorts is currently building the country\u2019s first licensed casino. MGM said over a year ago that it had applied for a licence in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wynn Al Marjan Island remains on schedule for completion in early 2027<\/a>, according to Marjan Properties. The 70-storey beachfront resort will feature over 1,500 rooms, a 21,000-square-metre gaming floor, 22 restaurants and lounges, a marina, and luxury entertainment facilities. It is expected to be a cornerstone of Ras Al Khaimah\u2019s goal to attract 3.5 million visitors annually by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s also been suggested that the GCGRA may advance with online gaming regulation, potentially granting one online gambling licence per emirate<\/a>. Analysts estimate that the UAE\u2019s gaming industry could contribute up to 1.7 per cent of the country\u2019s GDP, generating between US$3bn and US$10bn annually.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> MGM Resorts CEO expresses surprise at delay in Dubai casino licence decision<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jim Murren, chairman of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, says the UAE market could surpass that of Singapore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":777033990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Chairman of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), Jim Murren, projects the UAE market could surpass Singapore's, anticipating two to four integrated resorts within a decade. This expansion, beyond Ras Al Khaimah's Wynn Al Marjan Island, may include online gaming regulation with potential for one license per emirate, contributing significantly to the UAE's GDP.","focusai_entities":"Jim Murren, General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, GCGRA, Wynn Resorts, MGM, Marjan Properties, Skift Global Forum East","focusai_location":"United Arab Emirates, UAE, Singapore, Ras Al Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (0.98), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.95), investor_analyst (0.97), supplier_vendor (0.85), journalist_researcher (0.92)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"GCGRA Licensing Strategy","query":"What specific B2B and B2C licensing frameworks is the GCGRA developing to support the projected integrated resort expansion and potential online gaming verticals, particularly regarding the 'one online gambling licence per emirate' concept?"},{"label":"UAE Market Competitive Dynamics","query":"How will the projected entry of 2-4 integrated resorts, beyond Wynn Al Marjan Island, impact the competitive landscape and GGR projections for the UAE market, especially considering the stated ambition to surpass Singapore?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,24628,158,16334],"tags":[29,24785,24472],"class_list":["post-777033987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casino-news","category-highlight-of-the-week","category-slider-home","category-south-asia-news","tag-casino","tag-uae","tag-wynn-al-marjan-island"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777033987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777033987"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777033987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777034009,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777033987\/revisions\/777034009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777033990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777033987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777033987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777033987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}