Sixteen Arrested in Dubai for Running an Illegal Casino

Sixteen men in Dubai have been given jail sentences for running a secret casino, organising online poker games and gambling in an electronic games shop at Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).

Four of the men received one year sentences while the remaining 12 were jailed for three months each. Only two of the defendants were Emirati, the remaining fourteen will be deported.

The men were caught after an undercover police team posing as gamblers raided the unlicensed casino and arrested the men. Four of the men had uploaded software known as Lotos Poker to gaming machines. The software allows gamblers to access online poker games such as Party-Poker and Party-Casino.

Another four were charged with running an illegal gambling den while the rest were charged with gambling and playing poker. None of the defendants appeared in court and there were a mixture of guilty and not-guilty pleas.

An Emirati police lieutenant said that they were alerted that an electronic games shop had organised an unlicensed and secret casino in JBR by an informant. “An undercover police squad posed as gamblers and headed to the poker place… the police teams raided the shop. The poker machines were seized.”