Coin Technology Projects has become the first online casino in the United Arab Emirates to have its licence confirmed by the regulator. However, gambling-blocking software provider Gamban has raised concerns.
The General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) told iGaming Expert that Coin Technology Projects is licensed for internet gaming and sports betting in the UAE. However, the launch of the Play 971 brand was not confirmed, even though the platform appeared to have gone live in the region last week.
Gamban, meanwhile, published a report questioning whether certain suppliers featured on the Play 971 platform actually hold a licence, as they are not listed on the regulator’s licensing page on its website.
Gamban stated: “Play 971 has entered the UAE market as the country’s first officially licensed and regulated online gaming platform. According to industry reports, the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) added Play 971 to its public licence list on 28 November.
“Many of the games on the platform come from companies that already hold a licence. However, the live-casino section includes games from suppliers that do not yet appear on the public list of approved providers.
“What does that mean? In most regulated markets, casinos and the companies that make their games are licensed separately. It raises the question of whether every part of the site has actually been approved by the regulator.”
With any regulated market, a gambling regulator must be transparent with players and businesses regarding which operators and suppliers are licence holders, so that safer gambling practices can be implemented correctly.
BetBlocker’s Founder, Duncan Garvie, told iGaming Expert that clarity regarding who is and isn’t licensed is vital for a strong market, but also that this infrastructure being announced gradually is common.
Garvie noted: “To create an ecosystem that will effectively protect the welfare and rights of consumers is a hugely complicated undertaking. Yes, transparency around regulatory standards is critical to nurturing a healthy structure, but it’s also normal for these structures to be rolled out in phases.
“The GCGRA license is in the early days of its development and we should allow more time before assuming gaps in regulatory protections that have likely been accounted for and will be addressed in subsequent rollouts of later phases.”
However, Garvie did state that regulators must do everything in their power to make sure support systems are in place as soon as possible so that people who need help are able to receive it.
“It is important to emphasise, however, that where any country looks to build out a new regulatory structure, it is beholden on them to build out the support networks that are essential to addressing harm associated with gambling,” Garvie added.
“Despite gambling’s illegal status in the United Arab Emirates, no dedicated efforts to communicate with their population, no partners working in this space, and BetBlocker not (yet) having been translated into Arabic to support this population, BetBlocker has still supported hundreds of active users in the United Arab Emirates this year.
“Building the systems to address the social harms that coincide with gambling is far better done at the start of the journey, rather than further down the road when the crisis is already playing out.”
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