The General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) has awarded a Gaming Related Vendor Licence to Fennica Gaming.
Licences from the United Arab Emirates gambling regulator could have significant future potential, as a panel at the recent SBC Digital – Middle East and Africa 2025 event also highlighted the possibility of the UAE licence being “passported” to neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
With the licence, Fennica Gaming can now supply its casino titles to operators in the regulated United Arab Emirates casino market once it launches.
Live with titles across three continents in more than 15 countries, Fennica Gaming is the tenth company to receive a Gaming-Related Vendor Licence from the GCGRA, joining the likes of Aristocrat, Smartplay, PayBy, Xpoint, EQL Games, Novomatic, IGT, Scientific Games and Random State.
“Receiving the Gaming Related Vendor License from the GCGRA is a significant step for Fennica Gaming as we continue to grow our global presence,” commented Timo Kiiskinen, Managing Director of Fennica Gaming.
“The UAE represents a new dynamic market and for us a possibility to enter a new continent and new markets. We are excited to contribute to the development of its regulated gaming sector with our trusted and innovative solutions.”
While ten companies have received a Gaming-Related Vendor Licence from the GCGRA, only two companies have been awarded an operator licence by the UAE gambling regulator so far.
The Game was awarded a Lottery Licence to be the operator of the UAE lottery in July last year, while Wynn Resorts received a Land-Based Gaming Facilities Licence in October 2024 for its joint venture Wynn Al Marjan Island resort in Ras Al Khaimah with Marjan and RAK Hospitality Holding, which is expected to open in 2027.
The GCGRA also has a Memorandum of Understanding in place with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to strengthen the commercial gaming industry with an emphasis on cybersecurity, consumer protection and regulatory collaboration.
Gaming in the Middle East was a topic of discussion during a panel at the recent SBC Digital – Middle East and Africa 2025 two-day webinar event.
The panel, titled ‘A New Era for Gaming in the Middle East’, featured Jad Gharios, Chair of BetArabia; Dany Eid, Founder of BetArabia; and Joseph Borg, Partner at WH Partners and was moderated by SBC Advisory Partners’ Founder & Managing Director, Anton Kaszubowski.
Borg stated that the establishment of a gambling framework and regulator in the UAE represents a “momentous shift in the gaming industry” in the region, adding that current legislation in the country could also allow for a UAE licence to be “passported” to other neighbouring countries part of the GCC.
“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. 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.”
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