In what could follow a temporary blow to MGM Resorts International’s ambitions inward the United Arabian Emirates (UAE), Dubai will reportedly holdup plans to okay gambling casino resorts.

In partnership with Wasl Hospitality and Leisure, MGM opened a branded hotel inward Dubai inwards 2021 featuring the MGM Hotel, MGM Residences, and Bellagio Hotel. Earlier this year, amid budding optimism that the UAE could give a gaming regulatory fabric and eventually approve casinos, MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said the troupe was intimately monitoring the situation, and that it has 150,000 square toes feet at its Dubai holding localise apart inward the case casinos acquire the immature light.

Citing unidentified sources with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reported that Dubai opted to defer commendation of cassino gaming, but it could count bringing a stove poker serial to the emirate. Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah are now considered the leading contenders among the 7 emirates to live the number one to get cassino resorts.

At the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) inwards Las Vegas finally month, Hornbukcle noted the UAE could eventually be place to as many as four structured resorts. For now, Dubai opting against casinos is a setback for operators eyeing the region because Dubai is the most visited and widely viewed as the glitziest of the heptad emirates.

Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah Emerge as Leaders

While Dubai’s future as a place to a gambling casino holiday resort is at present upwardly in the air, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah are strong contenders inward their own rights.

Abu Dhabi is mapping out what it would appear the like to open up a casino, with Yas Island — place to the Ferrari World and Warner Bros. theme parks, as considerably as the Yas Marina Formula One Circuit — and a plot of land nigh the city’s port among the sites beingness considered,” according to Bloomberg.

For its part, Ras Al Khaimah, the great metropolis of the emirate of the same name, is the sixth-largest metropolis inward the UAE. It’s also nursing home to various holidaymaker attractions, including an aquarium, Burj Khalifa — the world’s tallest building — and Flamingo Beach.

Dubai’s determination to delay casino efforts and the egress of Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah as frontrunners doesn’t come along to wallop Wynn Resorts, which recently stony-broke ground on its Wynn Al Marjan Island. Slated to unfastened inwards betimes 2027, that locus is located inwards the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, and it’s widely expected the $3.9 one thousand million property will live the number one inwards UAE to experience cassino gaming.

Wynn antecedently noted the casino in that respect testament live larger than what’s found at Wynn Las Vegas, but as a pct of square feet, the gaming country testament represent a scant percentage of Wynn Al Marjan Island. Rather, the property’s accent testament follow sumptuousness hotel rooms, glamorous retail shops, and high-end dining and entertainment.

UAE Casino Outlook Still Bullish

Although Dubai is out of the UAE casino competition for now, analysts and manufacture insiders remain bullish on the long-term prospects for casino gaming inward the region.

Over the long term, it’s possible that cassino gaming inwards the UAE generates more revenue than in Singapore, but surpassing the enviable profitability heights established inward the city-state by Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa could demonstrate to live a tough task.

“Benchmarking against Singapore, UAE’s gaming revenue could get hold of $6.6 one thousand million and implied gaming outlay per holidaymaker inwards UAE mightiness strike at a lower place that in Republic of Singapore and Macau,” according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

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