Play971 enters the UAE as legal betting gets its first World Cup test

Play971 has launched in the UAE ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, becoming the country’s first legal betting platform in a market where Blask Index has more than doubled over the past year.

Capitalizing on the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, Play971 has gone live for UAE residents, establishing a historic precedent as the nation’s first regulated betting platform.

The brand is owned by Abu Dhabi-based Coin Technology Projects LLC and received its licence from the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) in November 2025. The launch gives the UAE its first legal online sports betting platform at the moment when football demand is entering its strongest global window.

The timing is deliberate. Football is the most-searched sport in the region, while the World Cup carries direct regional relevance: Jordan, Qatar, Iraq and Saudi Arabia have all qualified for the tournament. For Play971, this is the first real test of whether regulatory exclusivity can turn into market share.

Offshore dominance meets Play971’s May breakout

Over the last 12 months, the UAE ranked 31st in Blask’s global ranking, with CEB of $1.41B and demand growth of 33.82% YoY. Blask tracks 160 active brands in the market. More than 60% of brand demand is concentrated among five unlicensed leaders: betPawa, TrueWin, SportyBet, Dubibet and Stake.

That demand does not always mean active local operations. betPawa and SportyBet, for example, are not actively operating in the UAE, but still generate measurable search interest from users in the country. Play971 remains small in the annual ranking, at 28th by BAP with CEB of $2.43M, but its May breakout into the monthly top three shows how quickly a legal launch can shift visibility in an offshore-led market.

Play971 does not yet have the brand recognition of the offshore leaders, but it has a unique advantage: regulatory access. The upcoming FIFA World Cup will be the main test of whether an official licence can cut through years of user habit built around offshore brands.