Wynn Resorts confirms 2027 opening for Ras Al Khaimah’s first casino mega resort

Gaming giant Wynn Resorts has provided an update on its Ras Al Khaimah project and confirmed that it is on track for an early 2027 opening. Once completed, the project will mark a milestone and become the first casino mega resort in the United Arab Emirates. Called Wynn Al Marjan Island, the development sits on Al Marjan Island, which has become a growing tourist attraction. It features four coral-shaped islands and long beachfronts. The resort has unsurprisingly garnered a lot of interest across the Middle East, but not just for its ambitious scale and design.

For decades, places like Las Vegas or Macau were known as the casino capitals of the world, while such notions were never even contemplated in the Middle East. While Lebanon built the world’s first casino in the Middle East back in 1959, not many countries in the region followed suit due to religious and cultural reasons. While some countries like Egypt and Morocco have opened casinos to encourage more tourism, others like Saudi Arabia and Israel maintain complete bans on casinos.

However, despite these sometimes blanket restrictions on physical casinos, many Middle Eastern countries still see huge demand for online casinos. For instance, Israeli players can find top choices here by leveraging professional iGaming review sites that point out online casinos accessible to locals. Modern features like payment systems that cater to the instant withdrawal of winnings, welcome bonuses, and simple registration processes have become major attractions. The popularity and wide accessibility of these platforms mean many players from the region are able to indulge in casino gaming despite the lack of physical casinos available to them.

However, despite all the popularity of digital casinos, for now, mega casino resorts still offer plenty to tourists in ways that online platforms simply can’t replicate. The Ras Al Khaimah resort is set to be another international disruptor to more traditional casino hotspots like Vegas, which continue to see declining tourist numbers despite continued revenue growth. The project is slated to feature a casino floor, a luxury hotel with more than 1,500 rooms, a wide selection of restaurants, and several leisure attractions.

Wynn Resorts also designed the complex with a shoreline view, large water features, and an iconic curved structure that stands out on the island. The company described it as one of the largest developments it has ever built. Early visuals show a wide podium that will be lined with entertainment and nightlife attractions, amid a central tower shaped around sweeping arcs of glass.

Construction remains on schedule. Much of the podium structure has taken shape while crews are working on hotel levels and interior spaces. The final height will exceed 300 metres, making it one of the tallest buildings in the emirate once completed. Officials expect rapid progress through late 2025 and 2026 as finishing work begins across the site.

The Wynn Group is working closely with Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority and its regulatory arm, the Department of Entertainment and Gaming Regulation. This body oversees the licensing process and sets rules for gaming activity. Ras Al Khaimah has taken a careful step-by-step approach, with the aim of creating a controlled environment for casino play within a tourism-led location.