Dubai's Government and Gambling

[ethereumhunter]

Yes, they can open that and I think the government will do that in the future. Their main source before is oil and they've seen that it's not going to last forever that's why they've built infrastructures that can also help their economy to keep up through tourism and other industries. That's why the possibility of it to happen in the future is big. There could be a consultation from their religious leaders since it's a country that respect religions but it's still depending to the officials that sees the opportunity on it.

Consultation with the religious leaders is needed if they want to open a business in the gambling sector because their country could not easily accept something against their religion, especially from religious leaders. Everything can change in the future as the situations will also follow change, so we can see what will happen in their country.

AFAIK, they have the most open country in the Middle-East. They are consisting of religions that are free to worship based from their beliefs and unlike any other country that has only one religion to keep.
But that would be a good thing that they must do for them to have the consultation which is going to be a sign of respect to the religious leaders regardless of their faith and belief.

But still, if in their religion, gambling is prohibited, it is not easy for the government to get approval from the religious leaders. However, the reason is for getting more income for their country and to grow their tourism. The boxing fights are already hosting, but we do not know if some places are running gambling, so some people already gamble. Maybe the religious leaders will not have a problem if a sport is running in their place, as long as a gambling activity is not involved in that sport.

[Sithara007]

Yes, UAE is considerably the most open country in the ME region.
But still, they are following their Islamic law, where any form of gambling is strictly prohibited.
They are respecting all other religions, but in terms of government laws, they abide what they called Islamic law.
Maybe, in time, they will be open to this kind of activity. Remember, they are hosting some boxing fights already.
For sure, they know, there are betting activities involved in this sports.

It has been already pointed out. Gambling is allowed in Muslim countries such as Morocco and Albania. So you can't really claim that Muslim countries can't allow gambling. Whether UAE wants casinos in their territory or not, is up to them to decide. But the bans don't work anymore as the gambling is moving to online interfaces from casinos and other physical outlets. Even if the government bans gambling, how can they make sure that the citizens are not accessing the gambling sites through a VPN?

[TheNineClub]

Yes, UAE is considerably the most open country in the ME region.
But still, they are following their Islamic law, where any form of gambling is strictly prohibited.
They are respecting all other religions, but in terms of government laws, they abide what they called Islamic law.
Maybe, in time, they will be open to this kind of activity. Remember, they are hosting some boxing fights already.
For sure, they know, there are betting activities involved in this sports.

It has been already pointed out. Gambling is allowed in Muslim countries such as Morocco and Albania. So you can't really claim that Muslim countries can't allow gambling. Whether UAE wants casinos in their territory or not, is up to them to decide. But the bans don't work anymore as the gambling is moving to online interfaces from casinos and other physical outlets. Even if the government bans gambling, how can they make sure that the citizens are not accessing the gambling sites through a VPN?

Albania is not a Muslim country, it is a secular country. 50% percent of practitioners in a specific country do not automatically make that country follow the rules of that religion. Morocco, yes, there you are right, it is not a secular state, and the fact that they allow gambling is in fact remarkable. However, one swallow does not make a summer, and something being allowed in one place will not make for a simple change in another.

[bryant.coleman]

Albania is not a Muslim country, it is a secular country. 50% percent of practitioners in a specific country do not automatically make that country follow the rules of that religion. Morocco, yes, there you are right, it is not a secular state, and the fact that they allow gambling is in fact remarkable. However, one swallow does not make a summer, and something being allowed in one place will not make for a simple change in another.

The point OP wanted to make was probably like this - there are Muslim countries where gambling is allowed. No one will say that Morocco is not a Muslim country, just because they allow gambling. So that means that it is possible for Muslim countries to allow gambling in their territory. Personally, I believe that religion needs to change with changing times. There is no point in sticking to ancient customs and rituals when the world is changing.

[stadus]

Albania is not a Muslim country, it is a secular country. 50% percent of practitioners in a specific country do not automatically make that country follow the rules of that religion. Morocco, yes, there you are right, it is not a secular state, and the fact that they allow gambling is in fact remarkable. However, one swallow does not make a summer, and something being allowed in one place will not make for a simple change in another.

The point OP wanted to make was probably like this - there are Muslim countries where gambling is allowed. No one will say that Morocco is not a Muslim country, just because they allow gambling. So that means that it is possible for Muslim countries to allow gambling in their territory. Personally, I believe that religion needs to change with changing times. There is no point in sticking to ancient customs and rituals when the world is changing.

What is written in the bible or their book cannot be changed, that is the words of God and God doesn't change his words, so it's impossible it will change. it's not like the law of man where has to change or revise overtime as it could not be useful anymore.

[bitzizzix]

Albania is not a Muslim country, it is a secular country. 50% percent of practitioners in a specific country do not automatically make that country follow the rules of that religion. Morocco, yes, there you are right, it is not a secular state, and the fact that they allow gambling is in fact remarkable. However, one swallow does not make a summer, and something being allowed in one place will not make for a simple change in another.

The point OP wanted to make was probably like this - there are Muslim countries where gambling is allowed. No one will say that Morocco is not a Muslim country, just because they allow gambling. So that means that it is possible for Muslim countries to allow gambling in their territory. Personally, I believe that religion needs to change with changing times. There is no point in sticking to ancient customs and rituals when the world is changing.

What is written in the bible or their book cannot be changed, that is the words of God and God doesn't change his words, so it's impossible it will change. it's not like the law of man where has to change or revise overtime as it could not be useful anymore.

What I know is that the majority of Muslim countries strictly prohibit gambling and will be punished if caught because the law is in the Koran which will always be applied because of faith.
and if gambling is allowed in Dubai in my opinion it is very wrong and impossible because Dubai is a really devout Muslim country.

[Karartma1]

Albania is not a Muslim country, it is a secular country. 50% percent of practitioners in a specific country do not automatically make that country follow the rules of that religion. Morocco, yes, there you are right, it is not a secular state, and the fact that they allow gambling is in fact remarkable. However, one swallow does not make a summer, and something being allowed in one place will not make for a simple change in another.

The point OP wanted to make was probably like this - there are Muslim countries where gambling is allowed. No one will say that Morocco is not a Muslim country, just because they allow gambling. So that means that it is possible for Muslim countries to allow gambling in their territory. Personally, I believe that religion needs to change with changing times. There is no point in sticking to ancient customs and rituals when the world is changing.

What is written in the bible or their book cannot be changed, that is the words of God and God doesn't change his words, so it's impossible it will change. it's not like the law of man where has to change or revise overtime as it could not be useful anymore.

What I know is that the majority of Muslim countries strictly prohibit gambling and will be punished if caught because the law is in the Koran which will always be applied because of faith.
and if gambling is allowed in Dubai in my opinion it is very wrong and impossible because Dubai is a really devout Muslim country.

Like for all the Emirates, you won't find Casinos like there are in other parts of the world because of what you mentioned.
This doesn't prevent people from Dubai to gamble on foreign-based online platforms: that's inevitable and happens everywhere in countries where gambling is not allowed.

[zanezane]

The point OP wanted to make was probably like this - there are Muslim countries where gambling is allowed. No one will say that Morocco is not a Muslim country, just because they allow gambling. So that means that it is possible for Muslim countries to allow gambling in their territory. Personally, I believe that religion needs to change with changing times. There is no point in sticking to ancient customs and rituals when the world is changing.

The problem with that is that there are hardcore believers of the Muslim faith so a change is going to be difficult remember that back in the so-called "Dark Ages" of Europe and all throughout the Middle Ages, Muslims are the greatest intellectuals and scholars of math, science, and philosophy to name a few but they suddenly stopped the innovation because they know that it will eventually challenge their faith.

[bitterguy28]

Albania is not a Muslim country, it is a secular country. 50% percent of practitioners in a specific country do not automatically make that country follow the rules of that religion. Morocco, yes, there you are right, it is not a secular state, and the fact that they allow gambling is in fact remarkable. However, one swallow does not make a summer, and something being allowed in one place will not make for a simple change in another.

The point OP wanted to make was probably like this - there are Muslim countries where gambling is allowed. No one will say that Morocco is not a Muslim country, just because they allow gambling. So that means that it is possible for Muslim countries to allow gambling in their territory. Personally, I believe that religion needs to change with changing times. There is no point in sticking to ancient customs and rituals when the world is changing.

What is written in the bible or their book cannot be changed, that is the words of God and God doesn't change his words, so it's impossible it will change. it's not like the law of man where has to change or revise overtime as it could not be useful anymore.

What I know is that the majority of Muslim countries strictly prohibit gambling and will be punished if caught because the law is in the Koran which will always be applied because of faith.
and if gambling is allowed in Dubai in my opinion it is very wrong and impossible because Dubai is a really devout Muslim country.

Dubai is an open city and there are tons of people living there in which not muslim , if they will implement the rules for Non muslim people then i see no problem about allowing gambling in their city right?

With due respect for the muslim community , i think its time to move on for their own countries betterment, let muslim not gamble but let visitors and other people do theirs.

[DoublerHunter]

Dubai is an open city and there are tons of people living there in which not muslim , if they will implement the rules for Non muslim people then i see no problem about allowing gambling in their city right?

^ Definitely right and I think not only them implementing such rules on their country that has Muslim people. Nevertheless, even most Arab countries do the same as Dubai, however, the ministry of tourism in Egypt regulates the establishment and operating of land-based casinos for non-muslim people who live in their country. Not only by that, even Lebanon and Syria as I heard. So, not all Islamic countries are strictly prohibited gambling activity. Thye should be thankful if their government allows gambling but don't abide by such laws if they strictly prohibit this, that is very simple.

[leea-1334]

Almost every OPEC nation now have trillions of USD worth of assets stored in various Sovereign wealth funds (SWF). They have invested mostly in American and European stocks, and these markets have returned good profits in the last two years (despite the pandemic). The Gulf nations in particular, have learnt their lesson from the slump of 2008-09. The oil prices have remained below $100 per barrel for almost 7 years now, but the impact is limited to some of the smaller nations such as Venezuela and Angola.

Correct. In the past maybe they spent it too much on developing low value projects in their country but they definitely learned their lessons to invest the oil money into a load of foreign investments which are doing very well. They got the shock from the past of oil no longer going up in price no matter the embargoes so they definitely are smarter than we think in general. So no,,, gambling is not necessary for them or for their profile.

[Vishnu.Reang]

The problem with that is that there are hardcore believers of the Muslim faith so a change is going to be difficult remember that back in the so-called "Dark Ages" of Europe and all throughout the Middle Ages, Muslims are the greatest intellectuals and scholars of math, science, and philosophy to name a few but they suddenly stopped the innovation because they know that it will eventually challenge their faith.

Unfortunately that is the direction world is moving right now. Starting from the 90s, there have been a trend to involve more and more religion into politics. This has been a case with both Muslim and Christian nations recently. And even in some of the Buddhist and Hindu nations, this trend has started now. Countries such as Iran, Indonesia and Afghanistan used to be very progressive in the 1970s. And you know where they are now. Even in Christian countries, there is a trend of people moving from more liberal denominations to more conservative denominations (such as Seventh-day Adventists, Latter-day Saints and Southern Baptists).

The world seems to have turned full circle. From the progressive values, we are slowly turning back to the dark ages where inquisition and jihad will dominate the world.

[passwordnow]

AFAIK, they have the most open country in the Middle-East. They are consisting of religions that are free to worship based from their beliefs and unlike any other country that has only one religion to keep.
But that would be a good thing that they must do for them to have the consultation which is going to be a sign of respect to the religious leaders regardless of their faith and belief.

But still, if in their religion, gambling is prohibited, it is not easy for the government to get approval from the religious leaders. However, the reason is for getting more income for their country and to grow their tourism. The boxing fights are already hosting, but we do not know if some places are running gambling, so some people already gamble. Maybe the religious leaders will not have a problem if a sport is running in their place, as long as a gambling activity is not involved in that sport.

Actually, there's a separation of the state and the churches. That's why getting an approval won't matter to the government if their country is an open country and don't really rely to the church rules. There's a separation of it and the state respects the belief of the churches while the churches, they also have to respect whatever will be the decision of the government. They can say and suggest what they want to suggest but it's still the government who has the last decision that matters.

[uneng]

Yes, UAE is considerably the most open country in the ME region.
But still, they are following their Islamic law, where any form of gambling is strictly prohibited.
They are respecting all other religions, but in terms of government laws, they abide what they called Islamic law.
Maybe, in time, they will be open to this kind of activity. Remember, they are hosting some boxing fights already.
For sure, they know, there are betting activities involved in this sports.

It has been already pointed out. Gambling is allowed in Muslim countries such as Morocco and Albania. So you can't really claim that Muslim countries can't allow gambling. Whether UAE wants casinos in their territory or not, is up to them to decide. But the bans don't work anymore as the gambling is moving to online interfaces from casinos and other physical outlets. Even if the government bans gambling, how can they make sure that the citizens are not accessing the gambling sites through a VPN?

Albania is not a Muslim country, it is a secular country. 50% percent of practitioners in a specific country do not automatically make that country follow the rules of that religion. Morocco, yes, there you are right, it is not a secular state, and the fact that they allow gambling is in fact remarkable. However, one swallow does not make a summer, and something being allowed in one place will not make for a simple change in another.

Maybe Morocco friendly stance towards gambling is due to the french influence in the 50's, when the country was under the european country's control and had the first casino opened in their territory. Another muslim countries didn't absorb the foreigner influences in the same way, and prefered to fully stick with their local culture and traditions.
Anyway it's interesting how a country with 90% of its population belonging to muslim religion operates casinos. Probably they focus on tourists to make the industry profitable there. I believe in the future UAE will go through the same way, because these countries need income to survive and oil isn't going to be profitable forever.

[ethereumhunter]

AFAIK, they have the most open country in the Middle-East. They are consisting of religions that are free to worship based from their beliefs and unlike any other country that has only one religion to keep.
But that would be a good thing that they must do for them to have the consultation which is going to be a sign of respect to the religious leaders regardless of their faith and belief.

But still, if in their religion, gambling is prohibited, it is not easy for the government to get approval from the religious leaders. However, the reason is for getting more income for their country and to grow their tourism. The boxing fights are already hosting, but we do not know if some places are running gambling, so some people already gamble. Maybe the religious leaders will not have a problem if a sport is running in their place, as long as a gambling activity is not involved in that sport.

Actually, there's a separation of the state and the churches. That's why getting an approval won't matter to the government if their country is an open country and don't really rely to the church rules. There's a separation of it and the state respects the belief of the churches while the churches, they also have to respect whatever will be the decision of the government. They can say and suggest what they want to suggest but it's still the government who has the last decision that matters.

If they can respect the belief and each other, that will not be a problem because the religion and the state will search for the solution. If both sides, the government and the religion, can sit down together and discuss how if the gambling business open in their country or they need to do something before they open that business, I think that can get a solution. Even if somehow, the religion does not agree with the discussion, they can give the solution to their government what is needed.

[Karartma1]

Realistically speaking, until the Islamic customs will be so present and lived in the Emirates no one will ever challenge the law. Let's not be stupid though because we all know that even if it's forbidden to gamble, people will surely find ways to gamble online. I'm sure there are plenty of crypto gamblers in Dubai.

[mindrust]

I always heard that Dubai was not your average Islamic State. As far as I know they even let woman drive cars. I also heard you would find more prostitutes in Dubai than you would find in Amsterdam. That's also interesting.

And now they let casinos? Hardly surprising if they ever do it.

[leea-1334]

I always heard that Dubai was not your average Islamic State. As far as I know they even let woman drive cars. I also heard you would find more prostitutes in Dubai than you would find in Amsterdam. That's also interesting.

And now they let casinos? Hardly surprising if they ever do it.

It is definitely not your average. They are like most Muslim countries, they apply the law strictly to their own citizens and mostly their ethnic people but they are much more relaxed about it when it comes to outsiders.

And yes I also heard stories about prostitutes there but you find this in any city. The difference is that in Dubai it is hidden and illegal,,, in Amsterdam you can literally go window shopping for them;)

[jrrsparkles]

I always heard that Dubai was not your average Islamic State. As far as I know they even let woman drive cars. I also heard you would find more prostitutes in Dubai than you would find in Amsterdam. That's also interesting.

And now they let casinos? Hardly surprising if they ever do it.

Dubai is the place where everything possible when you have money, like you said the prostitution where you can find high class escort services who are imported from foreign countries to UAE, especially in Abu Dhabi but still its illegal and there will be huge penalty and punishment if they get caught.

Gambling can't be running everywhere like prostitution but I bet that it is pretty much happening in the underworld for sure.

[TheNineClub]

Albania is not a Muslim country, it is a secular country. 50% percent of practitioners in a specific country do not automatically make that country follow the rules of that religion. Morocco, yes, there you are right, it is not a secular state, and the fact that they allow gambling is in fact remarkable. However, one swallow does not make a summer, and something being allowed in one place will not make for a simple change in another.

The point OP wanted to make was probably like this - there are Muslim countries where gambling is allowed. No one will say that Morocco is not a Muslim country, just because they allow gambling. So that means that it is possible for Muslim countries to allow gambling in their territory. Personally, I believe that religion needs to change with changing times. There is no point in sticking to ancient customs and rituals when the world is changing.

What is written in the bible or their book cannot be changed, that is the words of God and God doesn't change his words, so it's impossible it will change. it's not like the law of man where has to change or revise overtime as it could not be useful anymore.

What I know is that the majority of Muslim countries strictly prohibit gambling and will be punished if caught because the law is in the Koran which will always be applied because of faith.
and if gambling is allowed in Dubai in my opinion it is very wrong and impossible because Dubai is a really devout Muslim country.

Dubai is an open city and there are tons of people living there in which not muslim , if they will implement the rules for Non muslim people then i see no problem about allowing gambling in their city right?

With due respect for the muslim community , i think its time to move on for their own countries betterment, let muslim not gamble but let visitors and other people do theirs.

I'd say that's the best option out of all others. Flexible but still in considerations with ones faith. But I am not sure how Islam sees this. I doubt there are teritorial remarks in Kuran so there is no reason why such a rule could not be implemented. However, there is more politics at play when it comes to state religion than we think.