A general view of the luxury Burj al-Arab Hotel at Jumeirah area in Dubai, UAE December 9, 2015. Picture taken December 9, 2015. REUTERS/Karim SahibA general view of the luxury Burj al-Arab Hotel at Jumeirah area in Dubai, UAE December 9, 2015. Picture taken December 9, 2015.
Other global casino and hotel brands which have moved into the UAE could benefit should RAK pave the way for other emirates to follow with many eyes on the bigger and glitzier jackpot of Dubai, a global tourist magnet, where gaming is currently banned. Caesars Palace, which opened in Dubai in 2018 and is the only one of U.S. giant Caesars Entertainment’ resorts globally without a casino says that it would examine any possibility of offering gambling in Dubai.
About 10 km along Dubai’s coast from the Caesars resort, digging has begun on another artificial outcrop to support a luxury resort by Las Vegas gambling stalwart MGM Resorts International. When asked whether it would consider introducing gaming at the resort, MGM said “gaming has not been part of the planning and there are no updates to our plans”.
In 2020 a national “Loto” was launched, for example. Players purchased a “collectable” picture of an iconic UAE scene, such as the Burj al Arab hotel, for 35 dirhams and were entered into a draw. Now players seeking to enter the draw purchase a bottle of water to be donated to charity to win a top prize of 10 million dirhams.
It did not answer questions about how its plans would work alongside the federal prohibition. Wynn told Reuters that the definition of gaming and types of games permitted would be determined by the regulator.RAK’s gaming regulations are being shaped by those of Singapore and the United States, according to Wynn Resorts and Vitaly Umansky, a gambling industry analyst at the Sanford C Bernstein investment company in Hong Kong who is familiar with the Wynn project.