Is online gambling legal in the United Arab Emirates?

The GCGRA reports about 6,000 illegal websites blocked as of December 2024. Some offshore sites still present themselves to UAE visitors: when we visited from a UAE internet address on 22 October 2026 (a proxy, not a home Etisalat or du connection, so this does not show what the UAE’s filter lets through), Stake’s and Melbet’s Arabic sites loaded, and BC.Game’s said it does not accept players from the UAE yet still showed its games with amounts in dirhams; 1xBet blocked the visit. The GCGRA says players with unlicensed operators may equally be subject to penalties. No federal tax instrument taxes gambling winnings. You must be 21, or 18 for the lottery, and you can complain to the GCGRA through its online form.

1. 1GCGRA, Activities We Regulate (web page)
2. 2GCGRA, Our Licensees (the licence register page)
3. 3Federal Decree-Law 31/2021 promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law (official English; arts 54, 66, 460-463)
4. 4Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses, consolidated to Decree-Law No. 28 of 2025 (Ministry of Finance)
5. 5GCGRA, Complaints Form (web page)

Online casino, sports betting: 21. Lottery: 18. No published rule states a player age as such: the ages come from the GCGRA’s Advertising Standards, which define an underage person as under 18 for lottery and under 21 for all other commercial gaming. The Child Digital Safety Decree-Law 26/2025 bars digital platforms from letting under-18s access online commercial gaming. Play971 says you must be 21 to register.

No tax on gambling winnings appears in the federal tax instruments published as of 22 October 2026: corporate tax reaches an individual only if they conduct a business in the UAE, and VAT and excise do not tax prizes. The gaming law and the GCGRA’s regulations are not published, so a winnings levy in them cannot be ruled out.

There are approximately 3 licensed operators in United Arab Emirates as of 26 Oct 2026.

Always verify a casino holds a valid General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) licence before depositing. Check the official register before signing up.

The official register of licensed sitesGeneral Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA)'s website

Prominent operators in United Arab Emirates

If a site isn't on the regulator's licensee register, ask the regulator before you play: an unlisted site is usually not licensed here (a register can lag behind a new licence). An unlicensed site is outside the regulator's supervision, so you cannot complain to the regulator about it.

• ✓
  Check the GCGRA register

  The GCGRA’s "Our Licensees" page lists every licensee by company name. The one online licensee, Coin Technology Projects LLC, names its brand as Play971; the lottery is The UAE Lottery (The Game LLC).

• ✓
  Unlicensed sites are illegal here

  Playing with an unlicensed operator is illegal under GCGRA rules, and the Penal Code punishes whoever gambles.

• ✓
  Use the limits licensed sites must offer

  Licensed operators must offer daily, weekly and monthly deposit limits and a cooling-off break of at least 72 hours, and check you against the GCGRA’s self-exclusion list.

• ✓
  Age 21, or 18 for the lottery

  The GCGRA treats under-21s (under-18s for the lottery) as underage, and licensed sites check your location before you play.

1. 1

   1. Contact the licensed operator

   Raise the problem with the operator first and keep screenshots of the bet, the balance and the refusal. The GCGRA’s form asks whether you have already complained to the operator.

2. 2

   2. Complain to the GCGRA

   Use the GCGRA’s online Complaints Form: choose the category (lottery, internet gaming, sports wagering), name the operator, describe what happened and attach evidence (up to 10 MB). It covers payments, winnings, withdrawals, accounts, bonuses, game fairness and responsible gaming, and it is also how you report an unlicensed operator.

   GCGRA complaints form
3. 3

   3. What the GCGRA can do

   The GCGRA can fine a licensee or suspend, restrict or revoke its licence. No independent ADR body is named, and no published text gives the GCGRA a power to order a refund to you.

• Myth

  Playing on a foreign site is a grey area in the UAE.
  Reality

  The GCGRA says playing with an unlicensed operator, online or in a venue, is illegal and may bring severe penalties, and the Penal Code punishes whoever gambles with up to 2 years in prison or a fine of up to AED 50,000. The GCGRA reports about 6,000 illegal websites blocked as of December 2024. Some offshore sites still show Arabic pages to UAE visitors (Stake, BC.Game and Melbet did when we visited from a UAE internet address on 22 October 2026 (a proxy, not a home Etisalat or du connection, so this does not show what the UAE’s filter lets through); 1xBet blocked the visit), but the GCGRA says players with unlicensed operators may equally be subject to penalties, and Stake’s own terms forbid using a VPN to get round blocks.

• Myth

  My gambling winnings will be taxed.
  Reality

  No federal tax instrument published as of 22 October 2026 taxes gambling winnings, whether you live in the UAE or not.

• Myth

  All the old prize draws and lotteries are still legal.
  Reality

  No. The UAE Lottery holds the only lottery licence the GCGRA permits; the Big Ticket and Dubai Duty Free airport lotteries continue under GCGRA supervision, and all other lotteries were ordered to shut down.