Light & Wonder has been given the go-ahead to provide its gaming services in the United Arab Emirates.
The General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), the UAE’s commercial gaming regulator, has awarded a Gaming-Related Vendor License to the supplier.
Land-based electronic gaming machines, table games/utilities and online iGaming content developed by the company can now be supplied to operators who have a UAE license.
Including both operators and suppliers, Light & Wonder is the 15th company to receive a licence for the UAE commercial gaming market.
Matt Wilson, President and CEO of Light & Wonder, stated: “Securing a license from the GCGRA is an important milestone for Light & Wonder as we enter one of the most anticipated new regulated markets in the world.
“We’re honoured to be among the first approved suppliers and are committed to bringing our trusted, responsible, and player-first approach to the UAE.”
‘Passported’ potential
Yet, a UAE licence could have significant future potential.
During a recent SBC Webinar event, Joseph Borg, Partner at WH Partners, noted that current legislation could allow for a UAE licence to be “passported” to neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
“Something very interesting that you can find in the law is, tied to what you mentioned about the greater part of the region, so outside of the UAE, is that the law already caters for passporting of the license across GCC countries,” Borg said.
“I believe that that is in itself, although it means nothing today, it already sheds some light on what the plans are for the future. When we talk of GCC, we’re talking about the other countries in the region – Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman. Technically, they’re already planning that a license from the UAE could possibly be passported to other GCC countries, and I think that in itself is extremely interesting.”
Licensees so far
In terms of operators, the UAE lottery is being managed by The Game, which has a Lottery Licence, but only one Land-Based Gaming Facilities Licence has been handed out to date.
Wynn Resorts received this licence for its joint venture Wynn Al Marjan Island resort in Ras Al Khaimah with Marjan and RAK Hospitality Holding, scheduled to open in two years.
Meanwhile, Light & Wonder joins the likes of Aristocrat, Smartplay, PayBy, Xpoint, EQL Games, Novomatic, IGT, Scientific Games, Random State, Fennica Gaming, TCS John Huxley Singapore and Pollard Banknote as companies that have received a Gaming-Related Vendor Licence from the GCGRA.