The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an elective monarchy in Western Asia perched at the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula, bordering Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, and Qatar. The Emirates are a federation that consists of seven independent city-states, the most famed of which is Dubai. The others include Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al-Khaimah, Ajman, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Fujairah.
Collectively, the seven emirates have a total population of around 10 million inhabitants, most of whom are orthodox Muslims, while the rest adhere to the Shia branch of Islam. The federation has the 35th-largest economy in the world and the fifth-biggest in the Middle East region, with a nominal gross domestic product of US$421 million for 2020, according to the World Bank. Petroleum export is the biggest contributor to the local economy, which is unsurprising considering the Abu Dhabi region is home to one of the largest oil-reserve concentrations on the planet.
This country of opulence evokes many associations but gambling is not one of them. Islam is the official religion under Article 7 of the UAE Constitution and the religious Sharia laws serve as the foundation of the country’s secular and federal legislation. The Islamic religion strictly prohibits gambling, denouncing it as a grave sin. The Emirates have some of the strictest gambling laws in the world, prohibiting all such activities in both landbased and online format.
Laws That Govern Gambling in the UAE
Several local laws outline the general prohibition on gambling. Some expressly refer to it, while others tackle it in an indirect manner. The ban extends to online gambling as well and the UAE is among the very few jurisdictions to actively prosecute people for betting over the internet. Those who engage in such activities risk being arrested no matter whether they have UAE citizenship or are non-Emiratis (like tourists or persons with temporary work visas).
Penal Code of the UAE
Civil Code of the UAE
Penal Code of the UAE
The primary piece of legislation that sets out the prohibition on gambling in the United Arab Emirates is the Penal Code, which borrows some elements from the Islamic Sharia laws. More specifically, the legislation mentions gambling in Chapter VI. Article 413 provides a legal definition of gambling games. It describes them as games where each person involved agrees that if they lose, they will pay a given amount of money or another thing of value to the winning party.
Article 414 proceeds to list the penalties imposed on people who disregard the prohibition and engage in gambling activities. Such individuals face punishment in the form of fines or a jail sentence of up to two years. The ceiling on the imposed fines is AED50,000. The penalties are in place provided that the transgression occurs in a public place or an illegal gambling house.
Participating in gambling, running gambling venues, and organizing gambling games are all illegal under the federation’s Penal Code. The organizers of the illicit activities risk being sentenced to prison detention of up to ten years and a fine of at least AED100,000.
Regardless of the circumstances, all money and gaming equipment used during the illegal operations is subject to confiscation. The authorities will shut down the premises where the activities have taken place and will not allow their reopening without the permission of the Public Prosecution.
The federation lacks any brick-and-mortar casinos whatsoever, even in major tourist destinations like the capital Abu-Dhabi and the Dubai emirate. Poker, bingo, and sports wagering are also subject to the blanket ban on gambling. Importing gambling equipment and machines in the country is against the law as well.
Civil Code of the UAE
Despite the general ban on gambling, the federation’s Civil Code contains provisions that allow for competitions with prizes but only under certain circumstances. Specific requirements are at hand as listed in Title IV, Chapter I of the Civil Code.
Article 1012 describes a contract for a competition with prizes as one that binds an individual to pay an amount of money or something else of value to the person who manages to accomplish the aim outlined in the contract. One such contract is valid provided that it meets two conditions.
First, both the prize and the payer should be clearly specified. It should also contain precise information about the activity that is subject to the contract. For instance, this could be the exact length of the running track for a race or the number of allowed shots in a shooting contest.
The losing party involved in the contract can also pay the prize in the form of specified property or debt, either immediately and in full or partially deferring the rest to a later date. Races that involve prizes are automatically considered a binding contract and the parties can only dissolve it by mutual consent.
In animal-related contests, a participant is not defeated if he gets his spurring whip forcibly pulled from his hand and his animal (a camel or a horse) slows down as a result. However, the rider loses the race if he forgets his whip at the start or drops it while riding. Prizes resulting from such competition contracts can only be awarded to the winner and not to third parties.
Finally, Article 1021 of the Civil Code states all contracts that involve gambling or other prohibited contests are automatically invalid. People who lose a wager made on a prohibited contest may recover their losses within six months counted from the moment when they paid the lost amount. This applies notwithstanding any prior agreements to the contrary but only on condition the losing party has adequate proof of their claims.
Online Gambling Prohibition in the UAE
As we already told you, the blanket prohibition in the UAE also covers gambling activities that take place over the internet. Back in 2012, the UAE President Sheikh Khalifa released a new decree known as Federal Law № 5 of 2012 on Combating Cybercrime. In Article 17, the legislation states that a person who launches, operates, or manages a website for gambling activities is liable for a fine ranging from AED250,000 (approx. $68,000) to AED500,000 (approx. $136,000). The same penalty applies to individuals who produce, display, or send gambling-associated materials to other people via a computer network.
Playing at Offshore Gambling Sites from the UAE Is Inadvisable
Active Prosecution for Online Gambling
Remote Telephone Betting
Rumors of Introducing Legal Gambling
Playing at Offshore Gambling Sites from the UAE Is Inadvisable
Anecdotal evidence indicates that some online gambling websites continue to accept wagers from residents of the country despite the blanket ban. They are still accessible to local citizens regardless of all governmental measures that aim to restrict the access. Nonetheless, it is inadvisable to play at them unless one wants to risk landing in jail for two years or paying the AED50,000 fine outlined in Article 414 of the Penal Code.
Active Prosecution for Online Gambling
It is important to understand that the UAE is unlike most other countries in this respect. In some jurisdictions, remote gambling is illegal but the authorities do not prosecute gamblers for playing at offshore websites. This is not the case in this federation which is one of the very few countries to actively institute legal proceedings against online gamblers.
Thoroughbred horse racing is huge in the federation, with the Dubai World Cup enjoying a particularly high popularity. It takes place each year in March at the Meydan Racecourse and is quite exciting for participants thanks to its massive prize purse of $12 million. Over 50,000 spectators gather on the racecourse to watch the competition.
Remote Telephone Betting
While betting on horse races is practically illegal in the country, many foreign bookmakers take action on the Dubai World Cup from abroad. Expatriates and tourists sometimes take advantage and make remote wagers on the Dubai World Cup races despite the blanket prohibition. One way they do it is by calling the foreign betting operators over the phone. Again, we recommend you refrain from making telephone bets if you are an Emirati as, in practice, you will be breaching the local legislation. Furthermore, foreigners who gamble in the country might also suffer a custodial penalty or end up being expelled from the UAE, according to Article 121 of the Penal Code.
Rumors of Introducing Legal Gambling
In March 2021, rumors emerged on social media that the Dubai government considered the possible legalization and licensing of gambling businesses. The emirate’s authorities quickly disproved the rumors in an official statement, labeling the claims “incorrect”, but did not provide any additional information on this subject.
Raffles in the UAE
The closest thing to gambling people can enjoy in the UAE is the Dubai Duty-Free Millennium Millionaire raffle. Participants can purchase their raffle tickets in the duty-free shops at the Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports without the fear of legal prosecution. It launched in the summer of 1999 and 5,000 tickets are available for sale per draw. Both locals and international visitors can participate by buying tickets.
The Millennium Millionaire draws are held roughly once every two or three weeks. The raffle has turned many people into millionaires since it launched more than twenty years ago. Perhaps more amazing is the fact that seven raffle participants managed to win the $1 million prize not once but twice. Two other raffles are also available but the prizes are non-monetary.
Participants in the Finest Surprise raffles get the opportunity to win motorbikes or luxury cars. People also have the option to purchase their tickets online at the official Dubai Duty-Free website. Tickets for the Millennium Millionaire draw cost roughly $270, while those for the car and bike raffles have price tags of $139 and $28, respectively.
Conclusion
The UAE lacks any form of legal gambling if you ignore the airport raffles we mentioned earlier. A similar raffle is in place in Qatar where it is also organized by the duty-free division of the Hamad International Airport. UAE authorities do not take illegal gambling participation or organization lightly, enforcing various penalties that come in the form of heavy fines and imprisonment. In April 2021, Dubai denied a rumored gambling legalization and it looks like the federation has no plans of changing its stance any time in the future.
