{"id":118106,"date":"2026-06-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/?p=118106"},"modified":"2026-06-09T02:45:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T02:45:37","slug":"uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UAE's regulated gaming market is moving onto sports\u2019 biggest <\/strong>stages. <\/strong>Play971, the country\u2019s first licensed sports wagering and iGaming platform, has opened access to wagering on football fixtures, according to a statement<\/a>. 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<\/a> reports. <\/p>\n

Play971? <\/strong>Backed by Momentum (also the group behind the UAE's first national lottery), the platform became the country\u2019s first licensed iGaming operator late last year<\/a>. It is operated by Coin Technology Projects and available to users aged 21+.<\/p>\n

The platform goes beyond football: <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n

One wrinkle:<\/strong> The platform is available only in emirates where local frameworks permit it, and so remains inaccessible in Dubai. It\u2019s a caveat we previously flagged<\/a> in the UAE\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\n

Zoom out<\/p>\n

The launch lands amid a broader UAE gaming push. <\/strong>The UAE became the first GCC country to roll out a national commercial gaming framework in 2024<\/a>, anchored by Wynn's USD 3.9 bn Ras Al Khaimah resort<\/a>. Since then, regulators have issued the country's first lottery license<\/a> and approved a growing roster of international gaming vendors, including Sportradar<\/a>, TCSJohnHuxley<\/a>, Aristocrat<\/a>, and Yolo Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Play971 has opened World Cup wagering less than a year after becoming the UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":118107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2606],"tags":[7,2605,82,238,2423,136],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-118106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming","tag-enterpriseam-uae","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-football","tag-gaming","tag-general-commercial-gaming-regulatory-authority","tag-sports","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"3cee9724-c0ce-48dd-b252-925af87cf627","order":"5","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"Calling the World Cup","related_issue":[118098],"teaser":"Play971 has opened World Cup wagering less than a year after becoming the UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform"},"yoast_head":"\nUAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering - UAE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Play971 has opened World Cup wagering less than a year after becoming the UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UAE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T02:45:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"enterpriseam admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"enterpriseam admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"enterpriseam admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d\"},\"headline\":\"UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-09T02:45:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/\"},\"wordCount\":270,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"EnterpriseAM UAE\",\"Fifa World Cup\",\"football\",\"Gaming\",\"General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority\",\"Sports\"],\"articleSection\":[\"GAMING\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/\",\"name\":\"UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering - UAE\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-09T02:45:37+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/\",\"name\":\"UAE\",\"description\":\"The State of the Nation\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UAE\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/42998.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/42998.svg\",\"caption\":\"UAE\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d\",\"name\":\"enterpriseam admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/enterpriseam.testing.projectsarea.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/author\/enterpriseam\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering - UAE","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering","og_description":"Play971 has opened World Cup wagering less than a year after becoming the UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform","og_url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/","og_site_name":"UAE","article_published_time":"2026-06-09T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-09T02:45:37+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"enterpriseam admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"enterpriseam admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/"},"author":{"name":"enterpriseam admin","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d"},"headline":"UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering","datePublished":"2026-06-09T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-09T02:45:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/"},"wordCount":270,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","keywords":["EnterpriseAM UAE","Fifa World Cup","football","Gaming","General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority","Sports"],"articleSection":["GAMING"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/","name":"UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering - UAE","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-06-09T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-09T02:45:37+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/06\/09\/uaes-first-licensed-igaming-platform-play971-launches-world-cup-wagering\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UAE\u2019s first licensed iGaming platform Play971 launches World Cup wagering"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#website","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/","name":"UAE","description":"The State of the Nation","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#organization","name":"UAE","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/42998.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/42998.svg","caption":"UAE"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d","name":"enterpriseam admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/enterpriseam.testing.projectsarea.com"],"url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/author\/enterpriseam\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"enterpriseam admin","author_link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/author\/enterpriseam\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/6\/532.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118106"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118141,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118106\/revisions\/118141"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue\/118098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118106"},{"taxonomy":"brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/brand?post=118106"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=118106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}