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MGM Resorts International president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle has announced that MGM has applied for a casino licence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), confirming the emirate of Abu Dhabi is its target location for an integrated resort (IR).

Hornbuckle told the Skift Global Forum 2024 on Thursday (September 19) that the company had filed a licence application with the federal gaming regulator, the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA).

Asked by the forum moderator if MGM had proceeded with an application, Hornbuckle replied: “Yes, we have. We’ve done it in Abu Dhabi.

“The way it will work is the federal government in Abu Dhabi will approve it, we’ve applied for it and hopefully we’ll win the licence there,” Skift quoted Hornbuckle as saying on its website.

“Each ruler has their city, their state. Each can say yes or no.

“I hope and believe this year we’ll understand more about Abu Dhabi and the federal mandate and go from there,” he said.

A GCGRA released in July indicates that MGM is either undergoing an initial investigation pending in-principle approval or, if the application is more advanced, a full review and “rigorous suitability investigation”. Hornbuckle did not identify the stage of the application process that has been reached.

Hornbuckle’s remarks confirm that MGM is committing to invest in two of the nation’s emirates: Dubai, where MGM is developing a non-gaming property featuring three of the company’s hotel brands; and now Abu Dhabi, whose political and corporate establishment has signalled support for casino gaming in recent years.

Although Dubai would be as compelling a location for an IR as any in the UAE, the emirate’s leaders have cooled on the prospects of casino gambling after initial reports of interest in expanding tourism revenue.

Hornbuckle told the forum that its Dubai property contains convertible spaces for casino gaming if the emirate warms to the industry down the road.

MGM rival Wynn Resorts is developing an IR in a third emirate, Ras Al-Khaimah, but is yet to confirm it has applied for a casino licence.

Wynn has had several years’ head-start on MGM in terms of development and construction, and continued to expand management this month with the appointment of Tom Roelens as COO of Wynn Al Marjan Island’s non-gaming operations, David Patent as executive vice president, casino operations, and Sherri DeSalvio as vice president of pre-opening planning and strategic initiatives.

But MGM formally enters the race to secure a regional gaming footprint with years of deep connections to the corporate and political structures of the UAE.

These connections include GCGRA chairman Jim Murren, a long-time former boss of MGM, and state-owned investment vehicle Dubai World, a key investor in MGM’s Las Vegas CityCenter project (now called ARIA campus) some 20 years ago.

The UAE continues to bolster federal government structures guiding future gambling activity.

The formation of the GCGRA last September and announcement of its board, executives and processes in July was followed in August by the creation of two high-powered committees implementing and enforcing anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policies.