UAE blocks 6,500 illegal gambling sites as regulator tightens control of emerging gaming sector

Since 2023, the UAE has disrupted more than 71 per cent of identified illicit activity in the sector.

The UAE is moving toward a tightly controlled and licensed commercial gaming sector after regulators blocked more than 6,500 illegal gambling websites targeting the country since 2023, disrupting 71 per cent of identified illicit gaming activity in the UAE market through a coordinated enforcement strategy.

The figures come from the Commercial Gaming Policy Paper, a document launched by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) and the National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations Committee last December. The paper proposes “a holistic regime by which the UAE can strengthen AML/CFT measures in its newly established commercial gaming industry.”

Established by federal decree and announced in 2023, the GCGRA is the sole federal body mandated to regulate, license and supervise all commercial gaming activities and facilities in the UAE. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, it holds exclusive jurisdiction over lotteries, internet gaming, sports wagering and land-based gaming facilities, with any gaming activity not explicitly authorised under its framework deemed illegal and subject to enforcement action.

According to the policy paper, the regulator’s strategy is built on four pillars:

• World‑class excellence in regulation.
• Safety and responsibility through robust consumer protections and AML/CFT controls.
• Innovation to support technology adoption and new models.
• Value for the UAE by unlocking investment, jobs and supply‑chain growth.

The document stresses that effective supervision of commercial gaming is tied to broader objectives under the UAE’s national vision for economic diversification and social cohesion.

The enforcement push against illegal operators is presented as one of the GCGRA’s first major milestones, alongside a wider set of achievements completed within its initial year of operation: issuing the country’s first commercial gaming operator licences, including the land-based licence awarded to Wynn Al Marjan in Ras Al Khaimah, launching the UAE Lottery under real-time regulatory oversight, and approving the first gaming-related vendor licences. As of December 2024, enforcement measures had also resulted in 11 high-volume offshore operators receiving formal cease-and-desist letters

On the regulatory side, the paper confirms that a 2024 ministerial resolution added internet gaming, land‑based gaming facilities, sports wagering and lottery operators to the list of designated non‑financial businesses and professions under the UAE’s AML/CFT law. That designation makes the GCGRA the supervisory authority for AML/CFT in the commercial gaming sector and requires licensees to comply with federal AML legislation, including customer due diligence, transaction monitoring and sanctions screening obligations.

Licensed operators must conduct institutional and player‑level risk assessments, apply player due diligence on transactions above defined thresholds, and implement enhanced due diligence for politically exposed persons and other high‑risk customers. The framework obliges operators to keep detailed records for at least five years, appoint a money laundering reporting officer resident in the UAE, and maintain systems to detect and report suspicious activity to the Financial Intelligence Unit, while also ensuring compliance with targeted financial sanctions.

The policy paper identifies a series of inherent money‑laundering and terrorist‑financing risks in commercial gaming, including anonymous transactions, exploitation of player accounts, third‑party payments, cross‑border transactions, use of multiple payment methods, casino value instruments, VIP and high‑value play, employee complicity and heavy reliance on cash. For each of these areas, it recommends mitigation measures such as account‑based play, transaction thresholds, tighter controls on chips and vouchers, restrictions or additional checks on third‑party and foreign payments, and specialised staff training to reduce internal collusion risks.

The GCGRA’s model is explicitly risk‑based and data‑driven across the licensing lifecycle. Before operations can begin, the regulator reviews each applicant’s internal controls, AML/CFT policies, cybersecurity and compliance framework, and continues with risk‑calibrated inspections, thematic audits and independent technical assessments once licensed. The paper also outlines the development of a Unified Player Database to aggregate player account and transactional data across all licensees, enabling real‑time analytics to support AML/CFT supervision, responsible gaming protections and evidence‑based policy adjustments.

The document concludes that the GCGRA regulations make direct references to the wider UAE AML/CFT framework. However, the coordination mechanism between the GCGRA, the Financial Intelligence Unit, and other regulators “still needs to be developed further to ensure effective information sharing and coordinated oversight.” According to the paper, this will help with better information sharing and oversight.

It also reads the regulator should use the findings from the sectoral risk assessment and the paper to: create effective measures to reduce potential risks; develop regulatory practices, including issuing guidelines to address key concerns, such as managing the AML/CFT framework for licensed gaming operators, customer Due Diligence (CDD), including Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) and monitoring and reporting transactions; conduct regular reviews of the sectoral risk assessment and other risk-based approaches. According to the document, this will help identify new threats and vulnerabilities in the commercial gaming sector and support ongoing improvements.