PayBy Received a UAE Gaming-Related Vendor License – What It Means for the Gaming Market
When PayBy Technology Projects LLC received a Gaming-Related Vendor License in the UAE, the news offered an interesting early look at how the country’s emerging commercial gaming industry would work behind the scenes.
PayBy was not licensed to operate a casino. Instead, the fintech company was reported in late 2024 as having received a Gaming-Related Vendor License from the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), allowing it to provide financial and payment-related services within the regulated gaming ecosystem.
This distinction is important. A modern gaming industry needs much more than casino operators. It also relies on payment companies, technology providers, gaming equipment manufacturers, geolocation specialists, software developers and other businesses supplying services to licensed gaming operations.
Looking back from 2026, the PayBy story therefore provides an interesting example of how the infrastructure surrounding the UAE’s regulated gaming market began to develop.
What Gaming License Did PayBy Receive?
The licence reported for PayBy was a Gaming-Related Vendor License.
This is different from a Gaming Operator licence.
The GCGRA defines Gaming-Related Vendors as suppliers of gaming equipment or related goods and services. A company in this category can therefore support the regulated gaming industry without operating casino games itself.
For PayBy, the connection was particularly relevant because the company specialised in digital payments and financial technology.
PayBy Did Not Receive a Casino Operator License
The term Gaming License UAE can easily create the impression that every licensed company is permitted to operate casino games. That is not the case.
The GCGRA has different licence categories for different parts of the commercial gaming industry.
| Licence Category | Function |
|---|---|
| Gaming Operators | Entities operating authorised commercial gaming activities such as Internet Gaming, Sports Wagering, Land-Based Gaming Facilities and Lottery operations. |
| Gaming-Related Vendors | Companies supplying gaming equipment or related products and services to the gaming industry. |
| Key Persons – Corporates | Entities holding relevant decision-making or control roles within applicants or licensed businesses. |
| Key Persons – Individuals | Individuals holding executive or other relevant decision-making roles. |
| Gaming Employees | Individuals working for or otherwise connected with applicants and licensed gaming businesses in relevant roles. |
PayBy’s reported Gaming-Related Vendor License therefore did not turn PayBy into an online casino, sportsbook or land-based casino operator.
Why Does the Gaming Industry Need Payment Companies?
A casino may be the most visible part of a gaming industry, but a regulated gaming market depends on a much larger technical and financial infrastructure.
Payments are an obvious example.
Gaming operators can require systems capable of processing transactions while also dealing with areas such as:
- Payment processing
- Merchant services
- Customer and merchant verification
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements
- Transaction monitoring
- Fraud prevention
- Payment security
- Settlement and reconciliation
- Chargeback management
These are areas in which established payment and fintech companies can provide technology and experience to a regulated industry.
PayBy’s merchant services have included payment processing, acquiring, API-based payment integration, Point of Sale solutions and compliance procedures. That made the company an interesting example of the type of financial infrastructure that can exist around commercial gaming.
Who Is PayBy?
PayBy Technology Projects LLC became part of the Astra Tech technology group in 2022.
The company developed payment services for businesses and consumers, including digital payment processing and merchant solutions.
PayBy was part of a much larger Astra Tech ecosystem combining communications, fintech and digital services.
Astra Tech currently says its wider ecosystem reaches more than 150 million users across 155 countries. That figure refers to the wider Astra Tech ecosystem rather than specifically to PayBy customers.
What Happened to PayBy?
The PayBy name also needs some historical context when reading about the company’s gaming-related licence in 2026.
Astra Tech states that in July 2025 PayBy evolved into botim money for business as part of a wider consolidation of its fintech services under the botim brand.
Today, Astra Tech describes botim money for business as a digital payment platform providing services ranging from e-wallets to Point of Sale systems for businesses and consumers.
This means that older reports referring to PayBy and newer Astra Tech information using the botim money brand relate to an evolving corporate and product structure.
What Is the Current Status of the PayBy Gaming-Related License?
This requires an important distinction between the historical licensing announcement and the current public information available from the GCGRA.
PayBy was reported in late 2024 as having received a GCGRA Gaming-Related Vendor License. However, PayBy Technology Projects LLC is not currently displayed under that name on the GCGRA’s public list of Gaming-Related Vendor Licensees.
At the same time, Astra Tech states that the PayBy business evolved into botim money for business in 2025.
This does not by itself establish that the original licence was cancelled, transferred or otherwise changed. Without an official statement confirming such a change, it would be speculative to say so.
For the current licensing position of any gaming company or vendor, the GCGRA’s latest public licensee information should therefore be used as the reference.
The UAE Gaming Industry Needs More Than Casinos
The wider GCGRA licensee list demonstrates how diverse the infrastructure behind commercial gaming has become.
Current Gaming-Related Vendor Licensees include businesses involved in areas such as gaming technology, equipment, lottery services, geolocation and other specialist services.
Examples currently listed by the GCGRA include:
- Aristocrat Technologies Europe (Holdings) Ltd.
- Smartplay International Inc.
- Xpoint Technology FZ LLC
- EQL Games Inc.
- Novomatic AG
- Brightstar Lottery Cyprus Limited
- Scientific Games International Ltd.
- Sportradar AG
- GeoComply Solutions Inc.
- International Game Technology
- Konami Gaming, Inc.
This illustrates an important part of the UAE gaming story: creating a regulated market involves building an entire ecosystem around gaming operators rather than simply issuing a licence to a casino.
From Gaming Vendors to Gaming Operators
The UAE’s regulated gaming market now includes several different operating categories.
| Gaming Category | Current GCGRA Licensee |
|---|---|
| Lottery | The Game LLC |
| Land-Based Gaming Facilities | Island 3 AMI FZ-LLC (DBA: Wynn Al Marjan) |
| Internet Gaming | Coin Technology Projects LLC |
| Sports Wagering | Coin Technology Projects LLC |
Gaming-Related Vendors sit alongside these operators by supplying the technology, equipment or services needed within the wider regulated market.
Wynn Al Marjan – A Different Type of Gaming License
The difference becomes particularly clear when PayBy is compared with Wynn Al Marjan Island.
Island 3 AMI FZ-LLC, doing business as Wynn Al Marjan, is currently listed by the GCGRA as a Land-Based Gaming Facilities Licensee.
This is an operator licence connected with the integrated resort under development in Ras Al Khaimah.
A Gaming-Related Vendor License serves a different purpose. It allows an approved vendor to participate in the infrastructure surrounding regulated gaming rather than automatically authorising that company to operate the gaming facility itself.
Does the PayBy License Mean Dubai Is Getting a Casino?
No direct connection should be made between a Gaming-Related Vendor License and approval of a casino in Dubai.
A vendor licence shows that the UAE regulatory framework includes businesses providing services to the commercial gaming industry. It does not determine where a future land-based gaming facility will be located.
Dubai currently has no licensed conventional land-based casino, and no licensed Dubai casino resort has officially been announced.
The development of the wider regulatory infrastructure nevertheless makes the subject of casinos in Dubai more interesting than it was several years ago. There is now a genuine regulated UAE gaming market – but that should not be confused with evidence of an approved Dubai casino.
Casino in Ras Al Khaimah – The Real Land-Based Development
The real land-based gaming development is taking place in Ras Al Khaimah.
Wynn Al Marjan Island is an integrated resort under development on Al Marjan Island, with its operating entity holding a GCGRA Land-Based Gaming Facilities Licence.
This provides a useful contrast with the PayBy story.
Wynn represents the gaming operator and integrated resort side of the market, while Gaming-Related Vendors represent the businesses supplying technology, equipment and services that can support regulated commercial gaming.
Gaming License UAE – What We Know in 2026
| Question | Current Position |
|---|---|
| Did PayBy receive a casino operator licence? | No – it was reported as receiving a Gaming-Related Vendor License |
| What is a Gaming-Related Vendor? | A supplier of gaming equipment or related goods and services |
| Was PayBy a fintech/payment company? | Yes |
| Is PayBy still the main brand used by Astra Tech for this business? | No – Astra Tech says PayBy evolved into botim money for business in July 2025 |
| Is PayBy currently displayed under that name on the public GCGRA vendor list? | No |
| Does that prove the original licence was cancelled? | No – such a conclusion should not be made without official confirmation |
| Does the GCGRA currently license Gaming-Related Vendors? | Yes |
| Is Wynn Al Marjan a Gaming-Related Vendor? | No – its operating entity is a Land-Based Gaming Facilities Licensee |
| Does Dubai currently have a licensed conventional land-based casino? | No |
| Does a vendor licence mean a Dubai casino has been approved? | No |
FAQs About PayBy and Gaming Licenses in the UAE
What gaming licence did PayBy receive?
PayBy Technology Projects LLC was reported in late 2024 as receiving a Gaming-Related Vendor License from the GCGRA. This type of licence is different from a Gaming Operator licence.
Did PayBy receive permission to operate a casino?
No. A Gaming-Related Vendor License does not by itself authorise a company to operate a casino. Gaming-Related Vendors supply relevant products or services to the regulated gaming industry.
Why would a payment company need a gaming-related licence?
A regulated gaming industry depends on financial and technical infrastructure. Payment processing, merchant services, transaction monitoring, compliance systems and fraud prevention can all form part of the wider ecosystem supporting gaming operators.
Is PayBy still operating under the PayBy name?
Astra Tech states that PayBy evolved into botim money for business in July 2025 as part of the consolidation of its fintech services under the botim brand.
Is PayBy currently listed by the GCGRA?
PayBy Technology Projects LLC is not currently displayed under that name on the GCGRA’s public Gaming-Related Vendor Licensee list. This should not automatically be interpreted as evidence that the historical licence was cancelled or revoked.
What companies are Gaming-Related Vendors in the UAE?
The current GCGRA list includes numerous international gaming and technology businesses, including Aristocrat Technologies Europe (Holdings), Novomatic, Scientific Games International, Konami Gaming, Sportradar, GeoComply Solutions and International Game Technology, among others.
What is the difference between a gaming operator and a gaming vendor?
A Gaming Operator conducts authorised commercial gaming activities. A Gaming-Related Vendor supplies gaming equipment or related goods and services to the industry. The two licence categories serve different purposes.
Does the UAE now have licensed Internet Gaming?
Yes. The GCGRA currently lists Coin Technology Projects LLC as an Internet Gaming Licensee.
Does the UAE have a licensed land-based gaming development?
Yes. Island 3 AMI FZ-LLC, doing business as Wynn Al Marjan, is listed as a Land-Based Gaming Facilities Licensee for the integrated resort under development in Ras Al Khaimah.
Does the PayBy licence make a Dubai casino more likely?
The licence should not be used as evidence that Dubai has approved a casino. Gaming-Related Vendor licensing concerns the infrastructure and services surrounding regulated commercial gaming. A casino in Dubai would require its own regulatory and development decisions.
Final Thoughts – Why the PayBy Gaming License Story Still Matters
The PayBy story remains interesting because it highlights a part of the UAE gaming industry that receives less attention than casino resorts, jackpots and gaming tables.
A regulated gaming market needs an infrastructure behind the games.
Payment processing, technology, geolocation, gaming equipment, compliance systems and other specialist services can all be part of that infrastructure. The GCGRA’s expanding list of Gaming-Related Vendors demonstrates how substantial this supporting ecosystem has become.
PayBy itself has also changed. Astra Tech says the PayBy business evolved into botim money for business in 2025, while PayBy is no longer displayed under that name on the GCGRA’s current public Gaming-Related Vendor list.
That makes the original licensing story best understood as part of the early development of the UAE’s regulated gaming infrastructure rather than as evidence of a new casino operator.
And while the growth of this infrastructure naturally keeps interest in a possible Dubai Casino alive, the two questions should remain separate: the UAE already has a regulated commercial gaming ecosystem, while a licensed conventional land-based casino in Dubai itself has not been announced.