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Wynn scores UAE’s first commercial gaming licence

By Pramod Kumar, Valentina Pasquali
Wynn licence Wynn Resorts
An artist's impression of Wynn Resorts' $4 billion, 1,500-room resort on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, which is expected to open in 2027
  • Regulatory authority gives green light
  • CEO to make presentation on October 8
  • Analysts bullish about potential

Wynn Resorts, the US hospitality group, has won the first commercial gaming operator’s licence in the UAE.

The company, which has its headquarters in Las Vegas, is building a $4 billion, 1,500-room resort on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, which is expected to open in 2027.

The resort has now been licensed by the emirates’ General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, which was set up last year to allow for commercial gaming licences to be issued. 

Wynn Resorts will hold a presentation focused on its Al Marjan resort on October 8, the company said in a filing with Nasdaq. Its CEO, Craig Billings, and other senior executives will deliver presentations, including on the resort’s expected financial performance. 

Analysts in the US were especially bullish before the licence announcement about the potential for the Ras Al Khaimah casino to boost Wynn’s fortune and for the gaming industry to thrive in the UAE.

Last month Morgan Stanley issued a research note that argued the October 8 investor event offered a “potential catalyst near-term” for Wynn’s stock, even if the resort is not slated to open for more than two years.

The company made a $356 million equity injection into the Al Marjan Island joint venture in the second quarter of 2024, bringing its total cash investment to $514 million.

The Al Marjan resort, co-developed by Wynn, the Al Marjan Island development company and RAK Hospitality Holding, is expected to open in early 2027. But it has already spurred a rush of development and rising property prices.

Wynn closed a deal in August to bank an additional 70 acres of land in the emirate for future development.

Craig Billings, CEO of Wynn Resorts, will make a presentation on October 8. Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake

A report by US real estate company CBRE in June estimated that legal gaming in the UAE could eventually generate more than $8.5 billion in revenue, once it is operating in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and RAK. 

The report described the UAE as “one of the best IR [integrated resort] investment opportunities we have seen in a long time”, because of its growing population, a large proportion of expats, “robust” tourism sector, consumers’ “high propensity to spend” and virtually no regional competition in the gaming industry.

John DeCree, CBRE’s senior equity analyst for real estate, gaming, lodging and leisure, told AGBI last month that “while investors are bullish about the economic opportunity, there continues to be scepticism on the regulatory regime.”

“However, the lottery licence issued is a step in the right direction, and we expect Wynn could give more colour during its analyst day at G2E,” he said.

The UAE established the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, a federal authority focused on introducing a regulatory framework for a national lottery and commercial gaming, in September last year.  

The authority issued the first national lottery licence and a broader gaming framework in July. Last month the US hospitality and entertainment group MGM Resorts said that it had submitted a proposal to secure a casino operating licence.

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