UAE Lottery Launches First Online Casino Despite Gambling Ban

December 01, 2025

Despite gambling being officially forbidden by UAE legislation, Momentum, the lottery operator for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has surreptitiously introduced an online casino platform in the Middle Eastern nation.

Additionally, gambling is severely prohibited (haram) among Muslims.

Online roulette, blackjack, slots, poker, live dealer tables, and sports betting on popular local events like tennis, cricket, and soccer are all available on the new platform called "TrueWin."

Momentum has started transferring customers from Dream Island, an earlier platform that was more of a low-risk lottery-style prize-draw website than a real-money casino or sportsbook.

Although the UAE is a target for grey-market gambling websites, the government frequently blocks or restricts them, with various degrees of success.  Now fully operational, TrueWin is the first locally accessible online gaming platform in the United Arab Emirates and the Arab Peninsula.

What gives, then?

Careful Balance

The first legal lottery in the area was introduced by Momentum in November 2024. It is open to everyone, regardless of country or religion, and is regulated by the federal government of the United Arab Emirates.

That was contentious in and of itself.  According to the Quran, games of chance are "abominations of Satan's handiwork" and a "grave sin."

Globalist capitalism and a judicial system that is still partially based on Shariah and traditional Islamic principles coexist in the United Arab Emirates.

It's also an affluent, autocratic petrostate that understands it needs to diversify its economy because its oil will eventually run out.  Furthermore, in the highly centralized UAE, very little happens without the government's implicit assent.

In reaction to Wynn Resorts' promise to construct a $5.1 billion casino hotel in Ras Al Khaimah, the northernmost emirate of the nation, the government created the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) in September 2023.

A regulatory framework for online casino gaming has not yet been created by the GCGRA.  However, unless you're getting ready for a controlled opening of the gambling industry, you don't set up a gambling regulator with the authority to manage casinos and sports betting, manned by former US state gaming commissioners.

Unprecedented Action

As it gets ready to relax its gambling regulations to a degree that would be unprecedented for the area, it seems that the administration is testing the waters.

And the benefits are enormous, but they must be weighed against societal and religious sensibilities.

If the Wynn project proceeds as planned and another integrated resort is added in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts estimate that gaming revenue in the UAE may reach US$6.6 billion.  That would outperform well-established markets like Singapore.