Wynn Resorts chief sees 2 rivals rising in UAE’s $5-billion gaming market

Wynn Resorts — which is constructing an built-in resort Wynn Al Marjan in a three way partnership with RAK Holding in Ras Al Khaimah — expects two rivals rising within the UAE within the coming few years and sees 100 per cent market share early on of the $3 to $5 billion gaming market, its chief government stated.

“We were factoring in two incremental competitors and a market that is $3 to $5 billion of GGR (gross gaming revenue). We always tend to operate at a fair share premium… With no announced competition that we’re aware of in the (UAE) market thus far, there probably is some conservatism in those estimates,” Craig Billings, CEO of Wynn Resorts, stated throughout an internet name with analysts after the third quarter 2025 outcomes.

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Set to open in early 2027, the $3.9-billion Wynn Al Marjan is the primary property within the UAE licensed to function as an built-in gaming resort. In October 2024, resort and on line casino operator Wynn Resorts was awarded the UAE’s first business gaming operator’s licence by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA).

While talking throughout a Skift summit, Jim Murren, government chairman of GCGRA, stated he anticipated as much as 4 built-in resorts within the UAE within the coming years.

While talking throughout a convention name, Craig Billings stated the UAE is “a very robust local market, a very high GDP per capita” market. “It’s a very small market, geographically, but it’s very tightly coupled. (Wynn Al Marjan) is about 50 minutes from Dubai, all with great road infrastructure. Those are all the things that we look at when assessing market size,” he added.

Marketing for the venture

With regard to advertising and marketing and making a buzz to launch the venture, he stated one-to-one advertising and marketing and participant engagement have been happening for fairly a while.

“Mass marketing and mass communication, you obviously roll out much closer to the actual opening. So we are actively marketing to the folks that we will want in the building on a one-to-one basis. You should expect to see a lot more on the mass marketing side as 2026 progresses,” he added.

Exciting new market

Wynn Resorts stated within the third quarter outcomes that the UAE is likely one of the most fun new markets for built-in resort improvement in many years.

The US resort and on line casino operator sees the Al Marjan Island property including $345 million of EBITDAR (money movement and administration charges) to its present base.

During the third quarter of 2025, the corporate contributed $93.9 million of money to the 40 per cent–owned three way partnership that’s developing the Wynn Al Marjan Island improvement within the UAE, bringing its life-to-date money contributions to the venture to $835 million.