UAE creates federal authority for 'commercial gaming' as casino giants flock to Gulf Arab nation
The United Arab Emirates has created a federal authority to potentially run a national lottery and what it describes as “commercial gaming.”
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates has created a federal authority to potentially run a national lottery and what it describes as “commercial gaming,” likely a sign that it is on the verge of allowing gambling as major casino operators flock to the Gulf Arab nation.
The state-run WAM news agency carried an announcement late Sunday on the creation of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, without offering many details about its structure or operations.
It named Kevin Mullally as its CEO. Mullally once served as the executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission, which oversaw that U.S. state's riverboat casinos.
“I am delighted to have been appointed as the inaugural CEO of the GCGRA," Mullally said in the statement. «With my experienced colleagues, I look forward to establishing a robust regulatory body and framework for the UAE’s lottery and gaming industry.”
Mullally did not return a request for comment from The Associated Press.
Also named was Jim Murren as the chairman of the authority's board of directors. Media in Nevada, home to the gambling city of Las Vegas, identified Murren as a former chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International, which also runs casinos. Murren could not be immediately reached by the AP.
Murren also worked closely with officials in the Emirates in the past. The biggest single development on the Las Vegas Strip was the $9.2 billion CityCenter partnership between MGM Resorts International under Murren and Dubai World, which opened in 2009. Its Harmon tower never opened due to construction defects and was
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