The UAE Lottery Still Stands Alone on the GCGRA Register in April 2026
As of April 14, 2026, The Game LLC remains the only lottery operator listed on the GCGRA register, while Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free still sit in a separate supervised airport-lottery category from the December 2024 advisory.
Last updated: April 14, 2026
If you want the clearest current UAE Lottery news signal, it is this: as of April 14, 2026, the GCGRA public register still lists The Game LLC - Operator of the UAE Lottery as the only public lottery licensee.
That matters because the broader public lottery picture is more nuanced than a simple single-brand headline. In its December 9, 2024 warning against unlicensed lottery and gaming operators, the GCGRA also said that Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free were authorised to continue operations under supervision as preexisting airport lotteries. So the public April 2026 picture is not “only one lottery-related brand exists.” It is that The UAE Lottery still stands alone in the public lottery-license slot, while Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free remain a separate supervised category.
If you want the evergreen background first, read our The Game LLC UAE Lottery license profile, our Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free legal status guide, and our guide to what is legal in the UAE right now.
Quick answer
- As of April 14, 2026, the GCGRA public register still lists The Game LLC - Operator of the UAE Lottery as the only public Lottery Licensee.
- The GCGRA said on July 28, 2024 that it had awarded a licence to operate the UAE’s first authorised lottery operation to The Game LLC.
- The GCGRA then said on December 9, 2024 that The Game LLC holds the sole lottery license under its framework.
- In that same December 9, 2024 advisory, the regulator also said Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free were authorised to continue under GCGRA supervision as preexisting airport lotteries.
- The current source-led takeaway is that The UAE Lottery remains the only public lottery licensee on the register, while Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free remain part of the legal picture through a different supervised pathway.
What the GCGRA register shows right now
The GCGRA Our Licensees page is still the clearest official current-status source.
As of April 14, 2026, it shows:
- The Game LLC - Operator of the UAE Lottery under Lottery Licensee
- Island 3 AMI FZ-LLC (DBA: Wynn Al Marjan) under land-based gaming facilities
- Coin Technology Projects LLC under internet gaming
- Coin Technology Projects LLC under sports wagering
- 18 gaming-related vendor licensees
The important lottery-side point is simple: the public register still gives one named lottery licensee entry, and that entry is The Game LLC.
Why this is still news in April 2026
This matters because the public record still points to a concentrated lottery structure.
A lot of casual readers assume that once the UAE Lottery launched, the lottery picture became broad, settled, and fully symmetrical across all well-known brands. The official source trail does not support that shortcut.
The current public picture is still structured around two different buckets:
- The UAE Lottery / The Game LLC as the public sole lottery license holder
- Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free as preexisting airport lotteries authorised to continue under supervision
That distinction remains one of the most important legal and market-structure details in the whole UAE lottery story.
What the GCGRA said in July 2024
The first major public lottery milestone came on July 28, 2024.
In its press release, the GCGRA said it had awarded a license to operate the UAE’s first authorised lottery operation to The Game LLC, which would operate under the banner of the UAE Lottery.
That announcement matters because it established The Game LLC as the first formal lottery licensee inside the federal framework. For the full company-level breakdown, read our The Game LLC UAE Lottery profile.
What changed in the December 9, 2024 advisory
The second key public lottery milestone came on December 9, 2024, when the GCGRA issued its warning against unlicensed lottery and gaming operators.
That notice sharpened the public picture in three ways.
1. It said The Game LLC holds the sole lottery license
The GCGRA said it had granted the sole lottery license to The Game LLC, which operates as The UAE Lottery.
2. It created a separate continuation path for older airport lotteries
In the same statement, the GCGRA said the Federal Law by Decree establishing the Authority permits certain preexisting lottery activities to continue. Within that framework, the regulator said only Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free were authorised to continue operations under GCGRA supervision.
3. It said other preexisting lotteries had been ordered to shut down
The regulator also said that all other preexisting lotteries would not be considered for continued operations.
That means the lottery picture was not flattened into one generic category. The regulator drew a narrower and more structured line than that.
Why Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free are still a separate story
The public record does not place Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free into the same public register position as The Game LLC.
As of April 14, 2026, the GCGRA register lists The Game LLC in the lottery slot, but it does not list Big Ticket or Dubai Duty Free there.
That matters because it shows the regulator is treating the airport-lottery continuation path differently from the sole lottery-license structure.
This is exactly why careful reporting should avoid saying either of the following:
- that only The UAE Lottery matters and Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free are irrelevant
- that all three sit under the exact same public lottery-licence status
The official public materials support neither shortcut.
What the April 2026 picture tells us about the market
The strongest source-led reading is that the UAE lottery story is still concentrated and transitional at the same time.
It is concentrated because:
- the register still shows only one public lottery licensee
- that licensee is still The Game LLC
It is transitional because:
- the regulator still recognises a separate supervised continuation lane for Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free
- that continuation lane exists alongside, not inside, the public sole-license slot
That makes the UAE lottery market more structured than many readers assume.
What this article does not claim
Because this is a current-status news piece, it does not claim:
- that there will never be another lottery-side public entry
- that Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free hold the same public status as The Game LLC
- that the current register captures every operational detail of how the lottery-side market functions day to day
- that the continuation status of airport lotteries is identical to a new public lottery licence
This article is about what the official public record shows right now.
Why this matters for readers and businesses
This distinction matters for:
- consumers trying to understand what is officially licensed
- publishers trying to avoid flattening all lottery brands into one bucket
- agencies and partners deciding which legal classification applies to which brand story
- businesses trying to understand where the line sits between a public licence and a supervised continuation pathway
For the wider legal enforcement context, read our illegal gaming risks guide and our guide to when a promotion becomes a lottery in the UAE.
Bottom line
As of April 14, 2026, the strongest source-based UAE Lottery update is that The Game LLC still stands alone on the GCGRA public register as the Lottery Licensee.
At the same time, the official public record still says Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free were authorised to continue under GCGRA supervision as preexisting airport lotteries. That means the lottery-side legal picture remains structured around one public lottery licensee and one separate supervised continuation pathway.
That is why this is still news: the UAE lottery market may be clearer than it was in 2024, but it is still not a one-line story.
Sources
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