What Is Legal in UAE Gaming Right Now? The July 2026 Guide

Last updated: 24 July 2026

The honest answer to "is gambling legal in the UAE?" changed shape on 1 June 2026. That is when the new Civil Transactions Law took effect and quietly deleted the civil code's gambling chapter — the articles that had treated betting contracts as void for four decades. Licensed gaming agreements are now enforceable contracts under UAE law for the first time. The Penal Code's ban on unlicensed gambling, however, did not move. Between those two facts sits the whole current picture: a licensed, regulated market that is legal, and everything outside it, which is not.

Key takeaways

• On 1 June 2026, Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 (the new Civil Transactions Law) removed the old civil code's gambling chapter (Articles 1012–1021), so licensed gaming contracts are civilly enforceable for the first time.
• The Penal Code still criminalises unlicensed gambling. The GCGRA, the sole federal licensing authority, is blunt: commercial gaming without one of its licences is illegal, for operators and potentially for players.
• Legal right now: The UAE Lottery (twice-weekly draws), the Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free airport raffles, Play971's online casino and sportsbook, and TrueWin, run by the same licensed operator.
• Play971 launched football betting on 5 June 2026, ahead of the FIFA World Cup — the UAE's first licensed online sportsbook in live use.
• No casino is open yet. Wynn Al Marjan Island is the only land-based licensee and opens in 2027.
• Since 10 March 2026, Google accepts UAE gambling ads only from GCGRA-licensed operators — a quick proxy for who is inside the system.

The short answer in three lists

Legal (licensed or specifically authorised):

• The UAE Lottery, run by The Game LLC under the country's sole lottery licence — Lucky Day draws every Wednesday and Saturday.
• Big Ticket (Abu Dhabi International Airport) and Dubai Duty Free's Millennium Millionaire raffles, authorised to continue under GCGRA supervision since December 2024.
• Play971, the online casino and sportsbook operated by Coin Technology Projects LLC, the only company on the GCGRA register for internet gaming and sports wagering.
• TrueWin, the sister casino-and-sportsbook brand run by the same licensed company — with a caveat covered below.

Illegal:

• Any commercial gaming offered without a GCGRA licence — offshore casino sites, unlicensed betting apps, social-media tipsters taking stakes.
• Playing through unlicensed operators. The regulator says consumers who do may face penalties, and the Penal Code's gambling offences remain in force.
• Advertising, processing payments for, or otherwise facilitating unlicensed operators.

Pending (licensed or applied for, not yet live):

• Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah — the only land-based gaming facility licensee, opening in 2027.
• MGM's casino application for Abu Dhabi, filed in September 2024 and undecided more than 20 months later.
• Anything in Dubai. No licensee operates there; Play971 remains geoblocked in the emirate as of June 2026.

What changed on 1 June 2026

For four decades, Articles 1012 to 1021 of the 1985 Civil Transactions Law governed gambling directly: betting agreements were void, and gambling losses could be reclaimed. The new Civil Transactions Law, issued as Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 and in force since 1 June 2026, deleted that chapter entirely. Legal reviews by Greenberg Traurig and Norton Rose Fulbright confirm the articles were neither retained nor relocated.

The practical effect: a wager placed with a licensed UAE operator is no longer automatically unenforceable as a matter of civil law. Enforceability now flows from the GCGRA licensing framework rather than from a civil-code chapter. Lawyers quoted in the coverage stress this is not a liberalisation of gambling in general — it clears the legal ground for the licensed regime and leaves unlicensed gambling exactly as illegal as before, under the Penal Code rather than the civil code.

What is legal right now, in detail

The UAE Lottery. The Game LLC holds the sole lottery licence, granted in July 2024. Its flagship Lucky Day game has run twice weekly — Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9:30pm, ticket sales closing at 8pm — since April 2026, alongside scratch cards, eInstants and the rapid-draw games Quick 5 and Color Prediction. The jackpot format was reset in December 2025 to Dh30 million, and two winners have already claimed it in 2026. Full mechanics are in our UAE Lottery rules explained.

Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free. When the GCGRA ordered unlicensed lotteries to shut in December 2024, it named exactly two pre-existing draws allowed to continue under its supervision: Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free. Both are still running monthly in mid-2026, with seven- and eight-figure prizes. We compared them with the national lottery in UAE Lottery vs Big Ticket vs Dubai Duty Free and covered their legal basis in Are Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free legal?.

Play971. Coin Technology Projects LLC is the only company on the GCGRA register for both internet gaming and sports wagering. Its flagship brand Play971 went live in late 2025 and added football betting on 5 June 2026, timed for the World Cup — the first licensed online sportsbook operating in the country. Access is 21+, Emirates ID registration, and physically inside the UAE; as of June 2026 it works in Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah, with Dubai geoblocked. See Play971 rules explained.

TrueWin. The same licensed company runs TrueWin, a second casino-and-sportsbook brand. The caveat, as ever: the GCGRA register names companies, not brands, and has never publicly confirmed TrueWin by name. Our TrueWin explainer lays out what is confirmed and what is inferred.

What is still illegal

The GCGRA's position has not softened: commercial gaming conducted without its licence is illegal. That covers offshore casino and betting sites targeting UAE residents, unlicensed apps, and anyone facilitating them — advertisers, payment processors, affiliates. The regulator's consumer advisories also warn that players using unlicensed sites risk penalties themselves, and the Penal Code's gambling offences were untouched by the civil-law reform. Our guide to illegal gaming risks in the UAE and how to spot unlicensed gaming offers go deeper. Mahzooz and Emirates Draw, suspended since January 2024, remain suspended with no announced path back.

Casinos: one licensee, zero open doors

Wynn Al Marjan Island's operator, Island 3 AMI FZ-LLC, is the only land-based gaming facility licensee on the public register. The resort opens in 2027 — Wynn announced a "modest delay" in May 2026 but still says 2027 — and until then there is no legal casino floor anywhere in the UAE. MGM's Abu Dhabi application has been pending since September 2024, and no Dubai venue holds or has publicly sought a licence. Details in our Wynn Al Marjan opening date explainer.

One useful proxy: the ads you see

Since 10 March 2026, Google has accepted gambling ads in the UAE only from GCGRA-licensed, Google-certified operators. If a gaming brand is advertising to you openly in the UAE, it should be licensed; if it only reaches you through Telegram channels and mirror links, that tells its own story. We covered the rules in UAE gaming advertising rules explained.

FAQ

Is gambling legal in the UAE now? Licensed gambling is. The GCGRA licences specific operators across lottery, internet gaming, sports wagering and land-based gaming, and since 1 June 2026 licensed gaming contracts are civilly enforceable. Unlicensed gambling remains a criminal offence.

Did the June 2026 civil code change legalise gambling? No. It removed the old civil-code chapter that made betting contracts void, so licensed agreements can be enforced. The Penal Code ban on unlicensed gambling is unchanged.

Is sports betting legal in the UAE? Yes, through Play971, the licensed sportsbook operated by Coin Technology Projects LLC, which added football betting on 5 June 2026. Any other sportsbook serving UAE customers is unlicensed.

Is the lottery legal in the UAE? The UAE Lottery holds the sole lottery licence and draws twice weekly. Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free raffles are separately authorised to continue under GCGRA supervision.

Are there any legal casinos in the UAE? Not yet. Wynn Al Marjan Island is the only land-based licensee and opens in 2027. Until then, no casino is operating legally anywhere in the country, including Dubai.

Is it illegal to play on offshore gambling sites from the UAE? Yes. The GCGRA warns that consumers using unlicensed operators may face penalties, and the Penal Code continues to criminalise gambling outside the licensed framework.

Further reading

• Is online gambling legal in the UAE right now?
• UAE gaming license tracker 2026
• Play971 rules explained
• TrueWin explained
• UAE Lottery rules explained
• Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free: legal in the UAE?
• Wynn Al Marjan opening date explained
• Illegal gaming risks in the UAE

Sources

• Greenberg Traurig, "UAE Civil Code Gambling Provisions Removed" (January 2026): https://www.gtlaw.com/en/insights/2026/1/uae-civil-code-gambling-provisions-removed
• Focus Gaming News, "UAE to remove gambling provisions from civil code from June 2026" (19 April 2026): https://focusgn.com/uae/uae-to-remove-gambling-provisions-from-civil-code-from-june-2026
• Lexis Middle East, "The Strategic Repeal of Gambling Provisions in the New UAE Civil Code" (10 February 2026): https://www.lexismiddleeast.com/eJournal/2026-02-10_27/en
• Khaleej Times, "UAE's Play971 launches football wagers ahead of World Cup" (5 June 2026): https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/play971-access-football-fans-wager-international-matches
• Focus Gaming News, "UAE's Play971 launches football betting ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup" (9 June 2026): https://focusgn.com/uae/uaes-play971-launches-football-betting-ahead-of-2026-fifa-world-cup
• Khaleej Times, "Play971 UAE: full guide to access, sports wagering and restrictions" (6 June 2026): https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/play971-uae-full-guide-to-access-sports-wagering-and-restrictions
• GCGRA, press release on unlicensed lottery and gaming operators (9 December 2024): https://www.gcgra.gov.ae/en/news/press-releases/december-2024-press-release-gcgra-issues-warning-against-unlicensed-lottery-and-gaming-operators/
• GCGRA, "Risks of Engaging in Illegal Gaming Activities": https://www.gcgra.gov.ae/en/legislation-compliance/compliance/risks-of-engaging-in-illegal-gaming-activities/
• GCGRA, official site and licensee register: https://www.gcgra.gov.ae/
• 15M, "Google turns UAE gambling ads into a licensed-only channel" (14 April 2026): https://15m.com/news/google-turns-uae-gambling-ads-into-a-licensed-only-channel/
• Skift, "Wynn Al Marjan Island Faces 'Modest Delay,' CEO Says" (8 May 2026): https://skift.com/2026/05/08/wynn-al-marjan-island-faces-modest-delay-ceo-cites-supply-chain-challenges/