Hanson Search is the leading executive search firm for iGaming hires across the UAE and wider MENA region. We support local and international operators, suppliers, technology providers, regulators and investors on scaling the senior teams now defining the country’s regulated gaming sector. Our MENA practice is based in the Dubai World Trade Centre and operates under an ADGM licence in Abu Dhabi, giving us the on-the-ground presence, and the regulatory standing, to deliver mandates that overseas search firms cannot.
The UAE has rapidly built one of the world’s newest regulated gaming markets. The General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority was established in Abu Dhabi in September 2023. The country’s first commercial gaming operator licence was granted to Wynn Resorts in October 2024 for the $3.9 billion Al Marjan Island development in Ras Al Khaimah, scheduled to open in Spring 2027. Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 made the framework permanent, and vendor licensing has been accelerating ever since.
For operators, suppliers, technology providers and advisers entering the UAE, this represents one of the most consequential talent challenges in iGaming today. Senior leaders need to be hired into roles that did not exist in the country eighteen months ago. Compliance, government relations, responsible gambling, regulatory affairs, country leadership and corporate communications functions are being built from scratch, often before the operations they support are fully licensed. Generic recruitment cannot keep pace with the specifics of this market.
Hanson Search’s iGaming practice combines deep sector knowledge with genuine UAE footprint. Our work spans the operators, suppliers, technology partners and government-linked entities shaping the regulated gaming sector, across compliance, regulatory affairs, government relations, responsible gambling, country leadership and corporate communications. We know the regulators, we know the talent, and we know what “good” looks like in a market where the playbook is still being written.
Career Enquiry
