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Extravagant Gaming Resort Planned for UAE Man-Made Island
By Shane Addinall Jan 29, 2022 IndustryWynn Resorts Ltd plans to erect a 250,000 sqm integrated resort on the man-made Al Marjan Island in UAE. Could this mean that tourists and citizens who visit the Islamic region may gamble at the resorts gaming area?Casino resort giant Wynn Resorts is planning a multibillion-dollar luxury development in partnership with Marjan, RAK Hospitality Holding. The integrated resort will be on the UAE’s man-made Al Marjan Island in Ras al-Khaimah. Although design and development are still in their starting phase, plans indicate a gaming area.
Ras al-Khaimah Tourism Development Authority released a statement at the time of the announcement of the planned integrated resort, to introduce their new division. The Department of Entertainment and Gaming Regulation will oversee resorts that include integrated hotel and gaming spaces.
This will be Wynn Resorts’ first project in the United Arab Emirates, an area that typically prohibits gambling.
Gaming Resort in Arabian Gulf
Wynn Resorts Ltd is a Nevada-based casino owner and operator, mostly known for their Las Vegas and Macau integrated resorts that house spectacular accommodation, entertainment, shopping, and gambling facilities. The American company ventures into uncharted waters with the UAE development, as no other casinos exist there. Even Caesars Palace in Dubai is without a casino.
Al Marjan Island is a man-made structure off the coast of the Arabian Gulf and extends four kilometres into the ocean. The five-island project broke ground in 2008 and by 2010, developers completed the first residential buildings.
The impressive project aimed at creating the islands without destroying the surrounding ecosystem. Since then, Al Marjan Island has become a leading tourism destination, offering luxury holiday experiences with its 7.8km of beaches and world-class hotels. The five-part island, shaped in unusual circles and semi-circles, looks extraterrestrial if viewed from above.
Marjan’s and Wynn Resorts’ project will cover an area of 250,000 m² on one of the islands, with sweeping views of the Gulf and marinas. It includes over 1,000 rooms, a luxury shopping mall, convention facilities, 10 restaurants and lounges, a spa, and a gaming area. This will be the first beach resort for Wynn Resorts, and it has a completion date set for 2026.
Craig Billings, the newly appointed CEO of Wynn Resorts, commented:
“The region offers tremendous potential for the hospitality and tourism industry, and we are excited about the prospect of developing an integrated resort in Ras Al Khaimah.”
The development of the integrated resort is a significant foreign direct investment for Wynn Resorts in this sheikhdom and the largest project of its kind in the Emirates. It is still in the initial stages of design, and they still need to obtain an integrated resort licence from the Ras al-Khaimah Tourism Development Authority.
Gaming in the UAE
Apart from creating jobs, boosting the local economy, and accelerating tourism, the prospect of an integrated resort in the UAE could indicate a more liberal future for the Arabic region. The region’s dominant religion and its penal code define gambling as forbidden. However, integrated resorts usually refer to facilities that house hotels with casinos and other entertainment features.
Reports detail that the resort will include gaming amenities and the announcement from Ras al-Khaimah Tourism Development Authority explained that their new department will regulate gaming. In the gambling industry, we use the term ‘gaming’ interchangeably with wagering. No reports explicitly say that the resort will offer gambling as part of the ‘gaming’ amenities, and the parties involved do not want to give further details at this stage.
With 80% of the UAE’s workforce being expats, the country endeavours to adopt more social freedoms and thus introduced certain reforms to their penal laws during 2020.
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