UAE’s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering

The UAE's regulated gaming market is moving onto sports’ biggest stages. Play971, the country’s first licensed sports wagering and iGaming platform, has opened access to wagering on football fixtures, according to a statement. Available markets will include match outcomes, total goals, and both-teams-to-score wagers, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup waits just around the corner, Khaleej Times reports.

Play971? Backed by Momentum (also the group behind the UAE's first national lottery), the platform became the country’s first licensed iGaming operator late last year. It is operated by Coin Technology Projects and available to users aged 21+.

The platform goes beyond football: Play971 offers wagering across a range of international and local sports, including basketball, cricket, tennis, horse racing, baseball, and UAE football, alongside casino-style and live-dealer games streamed from a GCGRA-licensed studio in Abu Dhabi.

One wrinkle: The platform is available only in emirates where local frameworks permit it, and so remains inaccessible in Dubai. It’s a caveat we previously flagged in the UAE’s gaming rollout, where federal regulation coexists with emirate-level implementation. Analysts view such differences as jurisdictional variations typical of an early-stage market rather than signs of regulatory uncertainty.

Zoom out

The launch lands amid a broader UAE gaming push. The UAE became the first GCC country to roll out a national commercial gaming framework in 2024, anchored by Wynn's USD 3.9 bn Ras Al Khaimah resort. Since then, regulators have issued the country's first lottery license and approved a growing roster of international gaming vendors, including Sportradar, TCSJohnHuxley, Aristocrat, and Yolo Group.