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Home / Features / What You Need To Know About Gambling In Dubai

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What You Need To Know About Gambling In Dubai

Dubai is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world. There are so many tourist attractions to see and beautiful landscapes to take in that if you haven’t been before, Dubai should definitely be on your bucket list when it comes to travelling. Despite this, there are many social rules in Dubai to make sure you’re not falling foul of, and it’s important to obey those rules if you want to have a good time without causing or getting into trouble.

One of these social rules concerns gambling. The rules about gambling in Dubai are not quite as straightforward as you might think they are, given that it’s a very wealthy city with plenty of visitors and lots of residents. The truth is that the gambling situation in Dubai isn’t particularly favourable, and if you want to gamble when you go, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise. Before you get packing for your holiday, here’s everything you need to know about gambling in Dubai.

Gambling is forbidden in Dubai

Dubai is subject to pretty strict Islamic law, which means that unfortunately, there’s no way to gamble legally within Dubai. That means if you’re hoping to place a few wagers while you’re holidaying there, you’re out of luck, sadly. As such, if you’re looking to gamble, you might want to get it out of your system prior to embarking on your trip. We’d recommend you click here to enjoy some great casino gaming before you leave, because if you gamble in Dubai, you might run into some serious legal trouble.

That goes for the rest of the UAE too

Dubai is the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, but did you know it’s not actually the capital? That honour goes to Abu Dhabi. The gambling rules in Dubai are the exact same as they are elsewhere in the UAE, so you won’t have any better luck if you decide to go to a different city in order to try some online casino games. Unfortunately, gambling is completely forbidden anywhere in the UAE, and that goes for physical institutions and online platforms alike.

Horse racing is permitted

Strangely enough, even though online casinos aren’t allowed to set up shop in Dubai, horse racing is completely fine. However, you’re still not able to actually place a wager on these races, because gambling is completely forbidden. As such, horse racing occurs in Dubai, but not for any kind of cash prize. If you want to go and watch a horse race, you’ll be able to do so with no problem, but you’re going to find it much, much harder to actually bet on one.

Using non-UAE casinos

Technically, it’s actually possible to place a bet in Dubai if you do so via an offshore casino platform. This means you can connect your device to a proxy server or a VPN and fire up your favourite casino site, place a bet, and be playing within minutes. You can’t offer wagers within the UAE, but you can entice customers to connect to a site that isn’t based locally, so if you do really want to play online casino games within Dubai, this could be one way of doing so.

Try not to be too obvious

Although you can technically game on online casinos within Dubai by using the above method, we wouldn’t recommend making it completely obvious that you’re doing so. Even though your situation is technically not illegal - or, at least, very hard to prosecute - that doesn’t mean the Dubai authorities will see it that way. Your safety is of paramount importance, and it’s simply not worth being dragged through a Dubai court for the sake of an online casino game.

It might be better to avoid gambling entirely

Despite what we’ve outlined above, in the end, we’d recommend not gambling while you’re in Dubai. The situation is a little too grey to risk your safety and security; Dubai’s gambling laws are incredibly strict, so if you are found out, you’ll probably incur a hefty fine or potentially even go to jail. As such, you may wish simply to avoid gambling while you’re in Dubai. After all, there’s plenty of other stuff to see and do while you’re there; you can save the gambling for when you return.

Will gambling ever be legal in Dubai?

Given the reasons that gambling is prohibited in Dubai - and, indeed, in the wider UAE - it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see a softening of the rules in this particular regard. There’s pretty much no chance that gambling will ever be legal in Dubai, unless there’s a complete rule change or an alteration in the regime. Dubai follows a strict interpretation of Islam, and such an interpretation doesn’t really allow for gambling in any way, shape, or form, so it looks like these strict laws are here to stay.

What can you do instead of gambling in Dubai?

Luckily, there are plenty of tourist attractions and distractions to keep your mind away from gambling while you’re in Dubai. Naturally, the most exciting of these is the Burj Khalifa, which is still the tallest skyscraper in the world. It’s almost 830 meters tall, and there’s an observation deck on the 124th floor that will absolutely blow your mind if you visit. You should also seek out the best Dubai restaurants and bars while you’re there; remember, drinking in Dubai doesn’t require an individual license now, but you will need to be in a private place or on licensed premises.

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