In recent years, Dubai has solidified its position as a global hotspot for innovation and growth, attracting billions-of-dollars-worth of business and tourism from across the world.
Dubai's Next Big Bet
The desert city is gearing up to add another jewel to its ever-more magnificent crown: a Wynn Casino, the first in Dubai! Set across four artificial islands in the Ras Al Khaimah [RAK] emirate, the $4 billion resort – devised by Las Vegas casino operator Wynn Resorts – will be replete with various five-star hotels, 22 luxury dining and lounge experiences, a 15,000 sq. metre shopping esplanade, and extravagant $7 million villas when it opens in early 2027.
With gambling currently prohibited under Islam and illegal in the UAE, the introduction of this vast new casino complex marks a major step change for the country. As such, the government has created an authority to provide a framework for legalised gambling, simultaneously facilitating the project.
Many believe in Wynn’s vision for the facility, with every villa lot on the resort having already been sold, and at least 20 developers have projects in various stages of design and construction across the islands. In anticipation of the influx of visitors the casino will attract, the nearby RAK International Airport is preparing to build a new terminal to boost capacity to two million passengers a year by 2027 – effectively tripling the 700,000 passengers expected to fly in and out of it in 2024. As such, the new resort isn’t just an exciting project but is ushering in a ‘gold rush’ of investment and development to the surrounding area.
A paradise for property investors
Due to the huge levels of interest the new complex will undoubtedly create, shrewd investors have a fantastic opportunity to establish an enviable foothold in Dubai’s property market. The casino will not only boost demand for ancillary services such as further hotels, restaurants, and retail establishments, in its vicinity, but will also see demand for housing where people can live and stay nearby, significantly increase. This will attract more developers to the area over time, with property prices increasing as a result, providing a high return on investment to those who act fast. Experts are forecasting that property prices in RAK’s freehold areas will rise by 20% - 30% annually over the next five years, citing the new casino resort as one of the main reasons.
High demand for rental accommodation will surely provide strong yields to investors looking to rent their accommodation to visitors, holidaymakers, or even those employed by the resort, which is expected to create thousands of new jobs. The average rental yield on apartments in RAK already stands at an impressive 8% - 10% - significantly higher than the 3% - 5% returns found in Dubai itself. Villas, meanwhile, generate strong yields at 6% - 8%. As such, RAK’s rental market is already extremely buoyant, and will only grow more so with the arrival of the new resort.
Besides the monetary gains associated with investing in property near the new casino, RAK actively offers incentives to attract residents and investors. These include granting 100% foreign ownership for properties and businesses outside certain zones – a rare regional anomaly – no personal or corporate income taxes to pay, fast visa processing with five-to-seven-day visas for property purchasers, and minimal restrictions on repatriating profits and incomes. By providing these enticements, RAK has grown foreign investment significantly, and many more investors are expected to discover these appealing policies as they explore opportunities around the new resort.
The time is now
Major developers are rapidly acquiring land throughout Ras Al Khaimah, and properties across the emirate are selling quickly. As land and property availability grows scarcer, prices will inevitably soar. Soon, it will be too late for investors who are still sitting on the sidelines to capitalise on the fantastic entry-level profits that are available today.
Make no mistake, opportunities like this don’t come around every day, so investors would be wise to discover what they stand to gain by investing in the burgeoning property scene around the new casino project. After all, they don’t call Dubai ‘the City of Gold’ for nothing!
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