Gambling Regulation in the Gulf: A Region in Transition
Gambling Regulation in the Gulf: A Region in Transition For decades, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman — presented a largely uniform legal position on gambling: it is prohibited. That prohibition rests on Islamic law (Sharia), which classifies gambling as maysir , forbidden on religious grounds, and it has historically been reinforced by criminal statutes rather than dedicated gaming regulators. In 2026, that uniformity is breaking down in one country, while it remains firmly intact in the others. The UAE's regulatory shift The clearest change has come from the United Arab Emirates. In 2023, the federal government created the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), based in Abu Dhabi, to license and supervise commercial gaming nationwide. The authority issued its first land-based casino operator licence to Wynn Resorts in October 2024 for a property in Ras Al Khaimah, and in late 2025 it grant...