The Burj Al Arab, Palm Islands, and Supercar Cemetery are all representatives of extreme luxury. It has the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, and is also the most populous and developed city in the United Arab Emirates. It is known as the desert miracle of Dubai. Why has it become a new stronghold in the iGaming industry? Is it really feasible to develop iGaming in Dubai? And are there any hidden secrets in the development of iGaming in Dubai? Today, the editor of TC-Gaming will take you to understand the big and small things about iGaming in Dubai.

In the past two years, a large number of Dubai job recruitment messages have appeared on the Internet. Most of them advertise the names of financial companies or technology companies with high salaries and good environment. The job vacancies range from customer service staff to software engineers, and most of the salaries are 1 The starting price is RMB 10,000, and the company provides various generous welfare conditions such as food and accommodation. In fact, this kind of recruitment information has quietly appeared on the Internet for some time. However, after the COVID-19 epidemic broke out around the world in 2020, this type of recruitment information has increased day by day.

The Philippines has always been the only country in Asia that legally operates the iGaming industry, and has accumulated more than one million iGaming industry personnel. With the surge in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 2020, the Philippines has instantly become the most severely affected country in Southeast Asia. As a country, the expanding epidemic crisis has also severely damaged the Philippine economy, and has also had a huge impact on the iGaming industry. In September 2020, Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III pointed out when participating in a hearing that the epidemic caused overseas gaming operators (Philippine offshore gaming operators, POGOs) to start leaving one after another. Such signs are clearly evident on the empty office.

In order to make up for the gradually expanding economic window, the Philippine government’s response is to decide to extract more tax revenue from existing iGaming companies. According to the newly enacted "Bayanihan 2" law, an additional 5% tax will be levied on the total bet volume collected by local iGaming operators. This move is expected to bring 45 billion to the Philippine national treasury. The money will be used to buy vaccines and provide low-interest loans to businesses. In addition, the latest bill passed by the Philippine House of Representatives also stipulates that foreign employees with an annual income of more than 600,000 pesos are required to pay 25% personal income tax. This standard is considered to be tailor-made for the iGaming industry.

Not only the increased tax burden, but also the series of sanctions launched by the Chinese government have become the last straw for iGaming companies to leave the country. Starting from 2020, the Chinese government has launched a nationwide card cancellation operation and a policy to encourage overseas personnel to return. After including the Philippines, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries within the scope of exit control, Chinese people who want to go to these places must first go through After applying for approval before leaving the country, it becomes even more difficult for Chinese people to join the iGaming industry.

Under the influence of these major policy factors, the Philippines’ online gaming industry has rapidly withered. As social criticism of the iGaming industry increases, the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) also announced that all iGaming operators must pay off their debts before their licenses can be officially restored; this has resulted in about one-third of the iGaming companies go out of business or leave the country, the overall iGaming industry volume can decline significantly.

In Dubai, many iGaming companies will claim to job seekers that they have a "legal license", or vigorously advertise that they are the official partner of the United Arab Emirates, and have successfully obtained iGaming licenses, financial licenses and the same offshore gaming licenses as in the Philippines. But in fact, there is no information on any of the above-mentioned iGaming licenses on the UAE government website, and it has never recognized that foreigners can apply for work visas based on the iGaming industry.

According to Article 414 of the United Arab Emirates Penal Code, any form of gambling is strictly prohibited in the Grand Duchy, and violators will be punished with 2 years in prison or a fine of 2,000 UAE dirhams. If one operates a casino or gambles in public places, according to Article 415 of the Criminal Law, the criminal liability is increased to 10 years. The only public event related to gambling, apart from the public welfare lottery, is the famous Dubai World Cup, but the official also advertises "only racing, no gambling."

Even in Dubai, a country that strictly prohibits gambling, the laws and regulations have clearly stipulated penalties, but iGaming companies are still rushing into Dubai. The Middle East Institute (MEI), an American think tank that specializes in studying the development of the Middle East, has started to invest in Dubai since 2015. Publish survey to date. According to a report "The Rising Wave of China in the United Arab Emirates", in the past few years, due to the "One Belt, One Road" plan, China and the United Arab Emirates have cooperated closer than ever, and the two countries have upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership earlier.

Not only that, the entire UAE country has relatively loose investment policies. In the country’s 44 free trade zones, foreigners can not only own 100% of the company’s equity, but local laws also guarantee exemption from corporate tax for up to 15 years, and they can Extended for another 15 years. In addition, 100% of the capital and profits of foreign-funded companies can be remitted without personal income tax, and there are no minimum salary restrictions. This has greatly increased the total number of companies in the free trade zone from thousands to 60,000.

Such policies are beneficial, and they have expanded even more under the impact of the epidemic. At the end of 2020, the United Arab Emirates ushered in a major economic reform. The benefits originally limited to the free trade zone are expected to be opened to the entire country. This will allow foreign investors interested in entering the United Arab Emirates to save many complicated administrative procedures. The Emirates News Agency (WAM) even pointed out in its report that the changes in the law "create a forward-looking vision economically."

In addition, in July 2020, Dubai became the first city in the world to open to tourism amid the epidemic. Combining convenient financial services, warm bilateral trade, a strong Chinese flavor, and easy conditions for setting up foreign-funded companies, many online businesses the iGaming industry has taken advantage of the situation to enter Dubai and other areas of the United Arab Emirates, and a large number of online gaming practitioners have come to work quickly with convenient tourist visas.

For many iGaming companies that are actually controlled by Chinese capital, Dubai's various advantages have made Dubai a prominent attraction in the candidate list for becoming a base for the iGaming industry. Industry players in these iGaming industries, Everyone hopes to spread risks and get rid of the control of the Chinese government, and Dubai undoubtedly meets the appetite of the iGaming industry.