Casinos in Dubai: Is There One, and Where Can You Play?

There is no casino in Dubai. No hotel, club or yacht in the emirate holds a gaming licence, and the UAE’s federal regulator, the GCGRA, lists a single land-based casino licence for the whole country: Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, about 50 minutes from Dubai International Airport, which is due to open in September 2027.

This guide explains why Dubai has no casino, what MGM’s resort on Jumeirah Beach could change, where the nearest casino is, what the “casino hotels” and casino cruises advertised for Dubai really offer, and the legal ways to play in Dubai today.

Casinos in Dubai at a Glance

Is There a Casino in Dubai?

No. The General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), the UAE’s gaming regulator, publishes a register of everyone it licenses. When we checked it on 9 November 2026, it held one land-based gaming licence: Island 3 AMI FZ-LLC, trading as Wynn Al Marjan, in Ras Al Khaimah. No company holds a licence to run a casino in Dubai, and the GCGRA states that playing with an unlicensed operator, online or in person, is illegal.

That rules out the places sometimes described as casinos in Dubai:

• Hotels. Booking sites list “casino hotels in Dubai”, but the label comes from search filters, not from a gaming floor. No hotel in Dubai has a casino.
• Caesars Palace Dubai. The Caesars resort that opened on Bluewaters Island in 2018 was a hotel without a casino. It closed in 2023 and reopened as Banyan Tree Dubai in November of that year.
• Private games, “casino nights” and yachts. None is licensed, and taking part is a criminal offence, as explained below.

Why Dubai Has No Casino

Two things keep casinos out of Dubai: a federal criminal law that applies in every emirate, and the fact that opening a casino is, in practice, each emirate’s own decision. Ras Al Khaimah has said yes to one; Dubai has not.

What the law says

Gambling is a crime across the UAE unless the GCGRA licenses it. Under the Crimes and Penalties Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021, anyone who gambles faces up to two years in prison or a fine of up to AED 50,000 (Article 461), and anyone who opens or runs a gambling venue faces up to ten years and a fine of at least AED 100,000 (Article 462). The court can confiscate the money and equipment and close the premises, and expatriates can be deported.

Who decides whether an emirate gets a casino?

Since 2023, the federal GCGRA can license commercial gaming in any of the seven emirates. A licence is only part of the picture: whether a casino opens in an emirate is, in practice, that emirate’s decision. Ras Al Khaimah chose to host one; Dubai has not. Even the online casino the GCGRA licenses, Play971, is switched off in Dubai — “accessible within the UAE only, except Dubai”, in the words of its own help centre. Our report on why Play971 is not available in Dubai sets out the detail, and our guide to gambling law in the UAE covers the rest of the rules.

Will Dubai Get a Casino? What MGM Has Said

The question keeps coming up because of The Island, a resort that Wasl, a Dubai government-owned developer, is building with MGM Resorts on Jumeirah Beach. First announced in 2017, it will bring three MGM hotel brands — Bellagio, Aria and MGM — to a 10.5-hectare beachfront site, and it is now due to open in the second half of 2028.

In February 2024, MGM said the resort would not include a casino. Since then, its chief executive, Bill Hornbuckle, has said more than once that he hopes it will one day:

In March 2026 Hornbuckle also said that the owner of the property “is ultimately the ruler’s company” and that “the ruler there will have the jurisdiction of if and when” a casino is added. Two things follow. The decision rests with Dubai’s government, not with MGM or the GCGRA alone. And even on the most optimistic reading, a casino in Dubai is years away: the hotels themselves are not due before the second half of 2028, and no casino has been approved.

Analysts quoted in the trade press expect the UAE to allow one casino per emirate in time. That is a forecast, not a policy: the GCGRA has not said how many land-based licences it intends to issue.

The Nearest Casino to Dubai: Wynn Al Marjan Island

The UAE’s first casino will be at Wynn Al Marjan Island, on an artificial island off Ras Al Khaimah, the emirate north of Dubai. The GCGRA licensed it on 4 October 2024, and Wynn Resorts now expects it to open in September 2027. Wynn says the resort is about 50 minutes from Dubai International Airport, which makes it the closest a Dubai resident or visitor will get to a casino inside the UAE.

The casino is part of an integrated resort: according to Wynn, it will have 1,530 rooms and suites and 22 restaurants, lounges and bars alongside the UAE’s first licensed gaming floor. Wynn has not yet published the size of the gaming floor or the number of tables and slot machines.

The entry rules — minimum age, whether UAE nationals may enter, and any entry fee — have not been published. Our Ras Al Khaimah casino guide covers getting there and what to expect, and our Wynn Al Marjan Island updates track the opening date, construction and Wynn’s quarterly reports. Until it opens, the nearest licensed casinos are outside the UAE.

Is There a Casino in Abu Dhabi or the Other Emirates?

No. Of the seven emirates, only Ras Al Khaimah has a licensed casino project.

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is home to the GCGRA and to The Game LLC, which runs the national lottery, but not to a casino. When MGM’s chief executive was asked in September 2024 whether the company had applied for a licence, he answered: “Yes we have [applied]. We’ve done it in Abu Dhabi” (Skift, 19 September 2024). A year later the application was still pending, and the GCGRA register still shows no land-based licence outside Ras Al Khaimah.

Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah is the only emirate where a licensed casino is being built. It chose to host an integrated resort on Al Marjan Island, and the GCGRA gave its operator, Island 3 AMI FZ-LLC, the UAE’s first commercial gaming facility licence on 4 October 2024. Its distance from Dubai — about 50 minutes from Dubai International Airport — makes it the natural destination for Dubai residents and visitors once the casino opens in September 2027.

Sharjah and the northern emirates

Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah have announced no casino project, the GCGRA register shows no licence in any of them, and no company has said publicly that it has applied there. Sharjah is among the most conservative emirates, with alcohol banned, and nothing suggests it will host a casino.

Casino Cruises From Dubai

A cruise ship is the one way to play at a casino from Dubai without flying abroad — but only on ships that have a casino, only once they reach international waters, and not this winter, when no cruise lines are sailing from the Gulf.

How ship casinos work

Cruise ships have filled the gap before. In winter 2024-25, Resorts World One, a ship with a casino on board, was based at Mina Rashid, one of Dubai’s two cruise terminals alongside Dubai Harbour, and sailed three times a week from 1 November 2024 to April 2025. Ship casinos open only once the vessel is in international waters; in port and inside UAE waters they stay shut, because UAE law applies there.

Why there are none this winter

There are none this winter. The conflict between the United States and Iran that began in early 2026 disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and left cruise ships stranded in Gulf ports, among them Celestyal Discovery in Dubai in March 2026. MSC Cruises moved MSC World Europa from its planned Gulf season to the Caribbean for winter 2026-27, and Explora Journeys cancelled its Middle East cruises for the same season (Euronews, March 2026). If cruise lines return, check whether the ship has a casino, and remember that it will not open until the ship is at sea.

Legal Ways to Play in Dubai Today

Gambling is not entirely absent from Dubai: three draws are legal there, all authorised by the GCGRA.

The UAE Lottery

The national lottery is available in Dubai as in the rest of the UAE. Lucky Day is drawn every Wednesday and Saturday at 9:30pm UAE time, an entry costs AED 50 and the jackpot is AED 30 million. Pick 3 and Pick 4 are drawn every night at the same time, for AED 5 an entry. You can buy online at theuaelottery.ae, in the Botim app or at sales points.

Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire

The only draw held in Dubai itself, at Dubai International Airport. Each series has 5,000 tickets, so every ticket has a 1 in 5,000 chance, and a ticket costs AED 1,000 plus 5% VAT. The draw takes place when a series sells out, which in 2026 has usually been on a Wednesday.

Big Ticket

A monthly cash raffle drawn on the 3rd of every month at 7:30pm at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, with AED 500 tickets. Series 293 is drawn on 3 December 2026 for an AED 25 million Grand Prize. Tickets are sold online and at Big Ticket’s counters at the Abu Dhabi and Al Ain airports.

Online casinos and sports betting

Online casinos and sports betting are another matter. Play971, the only online operator licensed by the GCGRA, does not accept players in Dubai, and international online casinos are not licensed in the UAE, so playing on them carries the same legal risk as any other unlicensed gambling. Our guide to online casinos in Dubai and the UAE explains what that means before you sign up anywhere. Horse racing at Meydan, home of the Dubai World Cup, runs without betting.

Illegal Casinos and Card Games in Dubai

Where there is no licensed casino, unlicensed ones appear — in villas, hotel suites, on yachts and online. None of them is legal, and the law punishes the people who play as well as those who organise the games.

Private games and “casino nights”

Private card games, “casino nights” in villas or hotel suites, and yacht parties with tables appear on social media from time to time. None is licensed.

The penalties

Playing is punishable under Article 461 with up to two years in prison or a fine of up to AED 50,000; organising is punished far more heavily under Article 462, with up to ten years and a fine of at least AED 100,000; and the stakes and equipment can be confiscated. The GCGRA’s own warning is that playing with an unlicensed operator, online or in person, is illegal. If someone offers you a seat at a “private casino” in Dubai, it is not a casino in any legal sense.

Unlicensed casino apps and websites

Websites and apps offering a “Dubai casino” online are not licensed in the UAE, whatever foreign licence they mention, so playing on them falls under the same law. A VPN changes nothing: the law applies where you are, and even Play971, the licensed operator, blocks play from restricted areas and does not pay winnings made from them. Our guide to gambling law in the UAE sets out the full rules.

Play Responsibly

If you travel to play at a casino, decide in advance how much you can afford to lose and treat it as the cost of an evening out, not as a way to make money. The house edge means that, over time, the casino wins. If gambling is causing you or someone close to you difficulty, our responsible gambling guide lists where to find help.

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