Wynn Marjan in Ras Al Khaimah: Home To UAE's First Casino
The Casino
- Set to open in 2026 and will be around 18,500 square meters in size, which would make it one of the 10 biggest casinos in the world.
- Resort will be located on Dream Island, an unused area on Ras Al Khaimah's Marjan Island.
- Mark a watershed moment for the Gulf, a region that has traditionally imposed stricter Islamic rules than other parts of the Middle East.
Ras Al Khaimah is currently writing gaming laws for the casino, using Singaporean and US regulations as its foundation, according to Hotelier, with the Wynn Marjan planning its casino operations in the emirate.
Hotel and casino operator Wynn Resorts will open a casino at the luxury resort it is building in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Chief Executive Craig Scott Billings said, a first for the Gulf Arab region, where gambling has long been off-limits.
The casino would mark a watershed moment for the Gulf, a region that has traditionally imposed stricter Islamic rules than other parts of the Middle East.
Role Of Emirate’s Tourism
According to RAKTDA:
* The emirate’s tourism development authority has already created a division specifically for regulating integrated resorts, with a new Department of Entertainment and Gaming Regulation also set up to “consider the social, cultural, and environmental landscape of the emirate and cover licensing, taxation, operational procedures, and consumer safeguards.
* The foremost priority of this new division is to create a robust framework that will ensure responsible gaming at all levels.
Prospect
The prospect of a new casino comes against the backdrop of intense competition in the Gulf, with business and tourism hub UAE vying with rapidly-opening Saudi Arabia to become the go-to destination in a region diversifying its oil-dependent economy.
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