Ask most residents what the UAE’s licensed gaming market consists of and they will name one product, usually the one they have seen advertised. The correct answer is two. The UAE Lottery, licensed in 2024, and Play971, the online sportsbook and casino that launched publicly in 2026, are the only real-money gaming products on the regulator’s register. They come from the same Abu Dhabi group, sit under the same regulator, and are otherwise very different. This guide compares them.
The common ground
Both are licensed by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), the federal body created in 2023 to license and supervise commercial gaming in the UAE. Both are operated by companies in the Momentum group, an Abu Dhabi-based entertainment business: The Game LLC runs the UAE Lottery, and Coin Technology Projects LLC runs Play971. The two operating companies share a registered address.
That shared parentage is worth understanding. The lottery was the group’s first licensed product and its proof of concept with the regulator; the online licences, for internet gaming and sports wagering, followed in late 2025, with Play971 running a supervised trial from November of that year and launching publicly on 5 June 2026.
Both products are restricted to adults, both run in dirhams, and both are subject to the regulator’s rules on responsible play and anti-money-laundering. Beyond that, they diverge.
What the lottery is
A lottery is a draw-based game: you buy an entry, numbers are drawn, and prizes are paid according to how many you matched. The odds are fixed by the game design, there is no skill element, and the experience is slow, with draws on a schedule rather than on demand. For many residents it is the first and only licensed gaming product they have used, and its public operation since 2024 is what made the online platform’s launch less of a surprise than it would otherwise have been.
The lottery’s own site is the source for its rules, prices, draw schedule and eligibility, which this article does not restate.
What Play971 is
Play971 is two products under one account. The sportsbook offers fixed-odds betting on football (including the UAE Pro League and the major European leagues), horse racing, cricket, tennis, basketball, baseball and ice hockey, with odds and data from Sportradar. The casino offers slots from OneTouch, software versions of roulette, blackjack, baccarat, poker and bingo, and live dealer tables streamed on Evolution’s technology from a GCGRA-licensed studio in Abu Dhabi.
Where a lottery is a scheduled draw, a sportsbook and casino are on demand: a market is open whenever a match is, and a live roulette wheel spins roughly every minute. That difference in pace is the single most important thing to understand about the two products.
Eligibility: the main differences
Play971 has stricter and more specific rules than most residents expect. You must be 21 or over. You register with an Emirates ID, a UAE mobile number and a residential address, and eligibility terms apply. You must be physically in a participating emirate to play: Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah are confirmed, and Dubai is not covered. Location is verified on your device every session using Xpoint’s technology, with VPNs blocked. Accounts are dirham-only, and cryptocurrency is not accepted.
The lottery’s eligibility rules are set out on its own site and differ in detail; check them there rather than assuming the two products work the same way.
Skill versus chance
A lottery is pure chance, and the honest expected return on a lottery entry is set by the prize structure. A casino game is also chance, but with a known house edge that varies by game: about 2.7 per cent on single-zero roulette, under one per cent on blackjack played to basic strategy, whatever the published return-to-player figure leaves on a slot. A sportsbook is the only one of the three with a skill element, in the sense that a bettor who knows a sport well can judge whether a price is wrong; the bookmaker’s margin is still built into every market, and most recreational bettors do not beat it.
The practical reading: if you want a cheap, occasional flutter with a big headline prize and no decisions, the lottery is the product. If you follow a sport and want to back a view on it, the sportsbook is. If you want the experience of a casino table from home, the live casino is. None of them is an income.
Pace and risk
The faster a product, the more the responsible gaming tools matter. A lottery draw cannot be chased. A live roulette table can, which is why Play971 is required under its licence to offer deposit limits, session reminders, time-outs and self-exclusion, and why self-exclusion is enforceable through the Emirates ID link. Philippa Bowland, the platform’s commercial director for iGaming, framed the launch around helping fans “play sustainably”; the account settings are where that promise is kept. If you use Play971, set a deposit limit before the first deposit.
Why both exist, and why only these two
The UAE’s framework allows the regulator to license products category by category and emirate by emirate, with one online licence available per emirate. The result today is a market with one lottery, one online operator and, from 2027, one land-based casino, the Wynn resort on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah. That is a deliberately small market built with the benefit of other countries’ experience: a handful of closely supervised licensees rather than hundreds of brands competing on bonuses.
It also means the GCGRA’s public register is short enough to check in a minute. If a product is not on it, it is not licensed, whatever its footer says.
The money, compared
A lottery entry is a fixed price with a fixed prize table, so the cost of playing is known before the draw and does not change with behaviour. Play971 is an account with a balance, which is why it carries tools the lottery does not need. Deposits and withdrawals run in dirhams through a payment method in the account holder’s own name, verified against the Emirates ID at registration, so a withdrawal is routine rather than the point at which document demands begin. Winnings are not taxed in the UAE on either product. The practical difference is pace: lottery spend is naturally capped by the draw schedule, while an on-demand platform is capped only by the deposit limit you set, which is the reason to set one before the first deposit rather than after a bad week.
Which suits you
Occasional, low-decision, headline prize: the lottery. Sport you already follow: the Play971 sportsbook, with a stake you would not notice losing and a limit set first. Table games or slots as an evening’s entertainment: the Play971 casino, with session reminders on. Many residents will use both products for different moods, which is fine; the budget is what should not double.
Getting started with the online platform
If you are 21 or over with an Emirates ID and in a covered emirate, go to play971.ae, create an account with your mobile number and email, verify your identity, confirm your address and enable precise location with any VPN off. Set a deposit limit in the responsible gaming settings, then deposit in dirhams. The sportsbook and the casino are both available from one login.
Two licensed products, one group, one regulator. Whichever you choose, you are choosing from the only list that counts. You can see what the online platform offers if you qualify.
Frequently asked questions
How many licensed gaming products are there in the UAE? Two: the UAE Lottery and Play971, both on the GCGRA register.
Are the lottery and Play971 the same company? They are operated by different companies, The Game LLC and Coin Technology Projects LLC, both in the Momentum group.
Which has a skill element? Only the sportsbook, in the sense that knowing a sport helps judge a price. Lottery and casino games are chance.
Does Play971 work in Dubai? No. Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah are confirmed.
What is the minimum age for Play971? 21, verified through the Emirates ID.
Are there any other licensed betting sites in the UAE? No. Play971 is the only online operator on the register.
Gaming products in the UAE are restricted to adults aged 21 and over and are not available in every emirate. Please play responsibly.
