Online Betting In Dubai

Dubaidating.ae The best Dubai Dating site. Find your other half and meet singles in Dubai, Qatar, Abu Dhabi. United Arab Emirates dating is here. Legal gambling in Dubai. As we’ve already mentioned, gambling is not a very common ‘practice’ in the UAE. But there are 3 cities with gambling facilities – all 8 legal facilities in total. The largest gambling city, of course, is Dubai. It includes table games, slots and video poker machines and online lottery in Dubai. Perhaps the most common question our team gets is if online gambling is legal in the UAE. The short answer to this question is that no, online gambling – like virtually all forms of gambling in the UAE – is.

• Best Online Betting Sports
• Is Online Betting Legal In Uae

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.

The UAE regime is relatively straight-forward: subject to the exceptions we set out below, gambling and any gambling-related advertising in any way, shape or form is prohibited. Our view is that this includes offering online gambling services to UAE.

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.

To outsiders, the UAE including Dubai is a curious place when it comes to betting. They boast one of the most luxurious horse race courses in the world, Meydan Racecourse, which holds 60,000 spectators and includes hotel, restaurants and museum. The highest purse at the track was for roughly $26 million. The track is a state of the art racing complex featuring different surfaces including turf and a highly advanced all-weather track. Dubai is also home to beautiful stadiums and fields for other spectator sports including football, tennis, cricket and motorsports. Yet, with all of this invested in sports, including horse racing (which is widely bet on worldwide), sports betting within the UAE is forbidden according to law.

The UAE even uses ISP filters to block certain content the government does not approve of, including dating websites, gambling, pornography and anything viewed as anti-Islamic.

However, if you are interested in placing bets from the UAE online, there are online sports betting sites that accept UAE players.

How to Bet Online from the UAE?

Some players may find that when they visit various betting sites from the UAE they are blocked and prevented access. Some players get around this by using proxy servers that will make your computer think you are logging in from a different location where websites are not blocked (the UK for instance). This does not change the legality of placing bets online, it only allows you to access sites that are blocked. Hidemyass.com is one that has worked for us. You can find others here (English site).

How to Deposit from the UAE?

The most popular deposit methods in the UAE is Neteller. Most are familiar with the popular credit cards Mastercard and Visa, but most prefer the e-wallet Neteller.

Credit cards are faster and tend to be more convenient, so they are often the preferred method. However, in some cases they are not always approved. In this case, many choose to use ewallets that, once the account is set up, deposits are nearly always successful.

There are added benefits to using ewallets. Many enjoy the privacy they offer, by placing an intermediary between the player and the betting site, where if you make a deposit using a credit card onto a betting site, the transaction will appear as a deposit with that betting site. However, if you use an ewallet such as Neteller, it will show as a deposit with Neteller. Once the money is in your ewallet account, you can then make deposits onto your preferred betting site, but your bank/credit card statements will only show the deposit with Neteller.

Another added benefit is that ewallets like Neteller are accepted by most reputable sites, so you can easily use the same account to fund different betting accounts, which makes it easier to take advantage of different odds at the different sites.

Best Online Betting Sports

When you want to cash out, you simply withdraw to your ewallet account, then request a payout from the ewallet. The timing of when you receive the funds depends on the withdrawal method.

Popular Sports to Bet on From UAE

Racing, football and tennis are the most popular sports to bet on from the UAE which hosts some major events. Horse racing, while popular for sport, is not as popular to place bets in the UAE for cultural reasons, where horse racing is appreciated more for its history in the region and sport rather than something to bet on. Cricket is also commonly bet on, but the most popular are still football and tennis.

Major Sporting Teams and Events in the UAE

Dubai World Cup – The first DWC race was held in 1996. It is a 10 furlong race on a flat track (no hurdles). It is an annual event held at the Meydan Racecourse since 2010. It has a huge purse, roughly $10 million.

Cricket at DSC Stadium – Home to the Pakistan national cricket team, Pakistan plays One Day Cricket, Twenty20, and Test Cricket events at the DSC stadium.

United Arab Emirates National Cricket Team – ICC members since 1989, UAE has been a strong contender in international cricket events. Winning the ACC Trophy 4 times between 2000 and 2006. ICC Trophy champions in 1994. Winners of 2007 and 2011 WCL one-day internationals.

UAE Football League – Professional Football League in the UEA consisting of 20 clubs.

Is Online Betting Legal In Uae

UAE in the Olympics 2012 – The UAE will be represented in Track (Men’s Triple jump and Women’s 1500m), Women’s weightlifting, Men’s Football, Judo, Swimming (100 m breaststroke) and Shooting (trap, double trap and skeet).