Betting Sites in the UAE
Player Rights

Player Rights

Sports betting has always had a complex history in the United Arab Emirates. Gambling activities have been active since 1970 in camel racing bets, but it was banned due to religious reasons. This wasn't the end of these sites, though, as some land casinos remained active in a few cities. Meanwhile, the fans of the online casinos managed to keep playing via VPN and such. But what happens if things go wrong? Or if you land in a sportsbook that displays unjust politics? Before betting on the different sites available, please read our article and learn about your rights as a player.

Privacy Protection

Player Rights

First of all, if you enter a sports betting website for the first time, you will be asked to register. You will need to put some of your personal information, such as your full name, address, and phone number.

The sportsbook will be held responsible for whatever happens to your information since keeping the personal information of its users is one of the most important requirements to be able to operate, and failing to do so can carry many severe consequences to all the parties involved.

If you wish to know more about the security measures that your sportsbook implies, we recommend checking out their “Privacy Policy” section.

Banking Information Security

If you want to start betting and win real money, you must deposit money first into your account. While you can use your bank account, we don’t recommend it because it can be traced back by the sportsbook or the bank itself.

Instead of your bank account, we recommend using e-wallets such as Skrill, Neteller, and PayPal or payment methods that use vouchers such as PaySafeCard. This is because these methods are not only more safe to use, but they can’t be tracked back in a way that might cause you trouble.

Similar to privacy, all the sportsbook sites are enforced to have any bank information of their players properly secured and encrypted to avoid leaking or scams.

Some of the most popular security methods are the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption and the KYC policy. You can find more about the security methods used by the sportsbook you visit in their respective tab or the FAQ of the said sportsbook.

Gambling Regulatory Entities

You might notice that different regulatory entities regulate all the sportsbooks. All of these work in different countries, but they share the same common trait of ensuring the rights and security of the players.

Some of the regulatory entities you might find are:

  • United Kingdom Gambling Commission
  • Malta Gaming Authority
  • Kahnawake Gaming Commission
  • Curacao eGaming

Licenses

The sportsbook sites must fill all the legal requirements before they are allowed to operate in their base country or other countries, which normally implies that they will need a license granted by the gambling regulatory entity of their country.

Since online gambling activities are banned within the United Arab Emirates, there are no licenses for the online sites can apply to. Still, we can recommend sites with licenses from other countries, such as the United Kingdom and its Gambling Commission, or other sites with licenses from the Malta Gaming Authority or Curacao.

Gambling in the UAE

As we mentioned earlier, gambling is currently banned in the United Arab Emirates due to religious reasons. Because of this, all types of gambling games, such as slots, table games, and others, are prohibited within the UAE. Anyone trying to practice these activities can incur fines or go to jail, depending on the situation.

Now, while gambling activities are mostly banned, sports betting is not entirely banned, with some exceptions, such as camel racing, in which anyone can bet on the races. You must keep in mind that these activities are closely supervised by the government, which ultimately decides if it is permitted.

What to Do If a Problem Occurs?

If you face a problem while betting, we recommend communicating with said sportsbook’s support staff. You can do this by using the live chat feature that most sportsbooks have, sending them an email, or contacting them by using a phone number.

Suppose the problem hasn’t been solved or you are not satisfied with the result. If that is your case, you can take your complaints to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider, a free service that negotiates between you and the sportsbook itself.

Be aware that you only can use this service after eight weeks after trying to contact the sportsbook staff and try out their customer support. Also, if you enter the sportsbook via a VPN, the ADR might not be able to help you since you are entering from a banned country.

Final Thoughts

As we finish, we feel it is our editorial responsibility to encourage you to do your due diligence and keep yourself informed about the national and local gambling laws as they might change or be modified from time to time. We also suggest you visit our recommended sportsbooks. Our experts checked all of them previously, so you shouldn’t experiment with any issues while betting on them, be always aware that the sports betting sites discourage using VPNs. Hence, if you use them, you are at your own risk.

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