Is Online Gambling Legal In Dubai
But it has led to some ambiguous legal issues, as the legality of online gambling is constantly being challenged. There are differences in the legality of making bets, taking bets, facilitating payments to casinos, and advertising on websites. And there are constantly new legal challenges. So here is a breakdown of the law on online gambling. Betting on sports and law in Dubai Stright laws on gambling don’t make sense to many especially because of famous horse race that takes place every year – Dubai World Cup Night. While UAE bookmakers and sports betting enterprises all over the world prepare wagers, locals can never participate in betting activities because of the law. As mentioned earlier, gambling is not legally permitted in Dubai, as is the case with anywhere in UAE. The government and culture of the UAE strictly goes by the Islamic law, considering indulging in games of chance a huge sin. However, that doesn’t mean that Muslims don’t gamble ever.
Online betting from Dubai – is it legal? Is it possible? UAE is a strange country. One of the richest countries in the world, it’s citizens are not allowed to do much. There is no boozing, no watching porn from the internet and also no gambling.
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In fact, gambling is illegal in UEA. This means anyone who engages in online betting from Dubai, can face up to two years prison time. It also applies when you are a foreigner, although instead going to jail you will most likely be extradited. So yes, betting laws are very strict when it comes to Dubai sportsbooks.
Before I continue, have a look at our list of top online bookmakers – they all are handpicked by our editors and they all accept bets from Dubai (UEA in general).
Betting on sports and law in Dubai
Stright laws on gambling don’t make sense to many especially because of famous horse race that takes place every year – Dubai World Cup Night. While UAE bookmakers and sports betting enterprises all over the world prepare wagers, locals can never participate in betting activities because of the law.
Of course, national religion here is islam and this forbids gambling activities by default. Law is simple, strict and straightforward – you can not engage in gambling nor any kind of gambling-related advertising. Also, it is logical that there are no brick and mortar casinos in UAE whatsoever. Although when we talk about sports betting and Dubai sportsbooks, there are some exceptions, but we will come to it later.
If you get caught gambling in UAE, usually the penalty is up to two years in prison. Reality is, almost no one will serve the two years – usually gamblers get just fined and life goes on. If a foreigner gets caught gambling, they will get deported.
Things get more serious if you get caught running a gambling joint – then you will be sentenced up to ten years in prison. Also, if you ever find yourself in Dubai and you will be offered to place a bet, just know you will usually get offered odds by UAE bookmakers and Dubai sportsbooks that are ridiculous. And there’s also added risk that even when you place a bet and happen to win it, know that your bookmaker may get caught anytime and even more, you may also go to prison.
Because gambling is available online, there exists now Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in the country. Their purpose is to control internet. All illegal content and websites are not allowed and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s daily job is basically blocking websites.
Exceptions
Same time, not everything that comes to online betting from Dubai is so gloomy. There are, in fact, some exceptions that permit running competitions, but keep in mind that all of those have to authorized by government officials.
For example, you might be allowed to place bets occasionally on shooting and of course – horse racing. But it comes with strict requirements. For example gambling operator / UAE bookmaker has to always specify the certainty of the prize there has to be always a designated person who gives winnings to the bettor.
This all means it is very tricky to participate in online sportsbooks betting from Dubai in a way you are used to in US in Europe. It is not allowed to give winnings to the 3rd party. If someone accepts your winnings for you, this would automatically mean you were participating in illegal gambling.
Using proxy servers for online betting from Dubai
Although internet gambling and betting sites are blocked by government authorities, there are many ways around it. One of the easiest ways is to just use traditional web proxy servers. Always so tireless Telecommunications Regulatory Authority is banning those every day so you have to choose new one every few days.
Then there’s also using VPN connection for online betting from Dubai. With VPN’s you can mask your real location. And also you could use remote desktop connection. Meaning you will connect to online betting site via someone else’s computer that’s situated conveniently in some other country, where betting is legal for example.
So yes, playing the system isn’t difficult at all, just always to remember to do your own due diligence. There are always risks of getting caught, so you should know these beforehand. But times are changing, even in UAE so don’t lose your sleep over it.
Will bookmakers allow bets from UAE?
Yes, they do. All bookmakers listed on our site accept bets from UAE. It happens almost daily that big online betting operators set up odds for local races. Yes, there is a theoretical problem that locals from UAE are not allowed to place bets online, but in reality there is plenty of action and liquidity in those markets.
Being the biggest city of UAE (United Arab Emirates), Dubai has made a huge name for itself as the top business destination in the entire Middle East. When it comes to gaming, Dubai follows the exactly same rules that are applicable to the rest of the Emirates. Hence, you’ll see almost no gambling happening under the strict Islamic law here. As a result, many interested gamblers turn to online casinos that accept players from UAE on their platforms. Here’s a list of things you should avoid doing when travelling to Dubai.
Religious opposition to gambling
As mentioned earlier, gambling is not legally permitted in Dubai, as is the case with anywhere in UAE. The government and culture of the UAE strictly goes by the Islamic law, considering indulging in games of chance a huge sin. However, that doesn’t mean that Muslims don’t gamble ever. But betting with any real money is clearly disapproved of, and hence there’s a great deal of uniformity regarding such a ban in all the major Islamic nations.
Hence, despite being quite popular among business travellers, you won’t find any casinos in Dubai. Furthermore, you won’t also find any card rooms, legal sports betting options or lotteries in the city. Any form of betting through brick-and-mortar establishments is strictly prohibited.
If you compare Dubai to a county like Canada, where both bricks and mortar, and online casinos are allowed then you will note quite a difference. For example, you can go through these comprehensive online casino reviews to see the top online casinos that operate in Canada. If you are Canadian that is travelling to Dubai, it is worth keeping this in mind that what you do at home may not be ok in Dubai- even if it is gambling online.
Having said that, certain activities bearing close relation to betting are permitted nevertheless. For instance, you can witness plenty of horse races in Dubai. For instance, Meydan Racecourse which has both turf and dirt tracks can be seen hosting a large number of thoroughbreds from all parts of the world as well as the local Arabian horses competing against each other, often for big cash prizes. Dubai World Cup has for long been recognised as the biggest horse race in Dubai where the best horses from the world compete for millions of dollars. Although bettors from different parts of the world can punt on these races from their own respective countries, you can’t do so legally in the UAE.
Is Online Gambling Legal In Dubai Right Now
Although no local online casinos, playing at foreign-based websites might be possible
Keeping in mind the strong ethical stance that UAE has against all forms of gambling, they don’t place equally stricter restrictions on online gambling opportunities provided by foreign-based operators. Not much can be done against the foreign-based online casinos and gambling platforms that accept players from Dubai and other parts of the UAE. Therefore, in practice, you might be able to access foreign-based online gambling platforms from Dubai. In fact, there are cases where players are able to freely play at online casinos with real money, at such offshore websites.
There are a good number of reputed software developers that license out their games to online casinos that accept Dubai players, including Microgaming, Play’n Go, Betsoft, NetEnt and Playtech.
Strong measures have been taken to ensure that no one runs any online gambling website from within the country though.
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