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The UAE’s General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) has appointed Ciarán Carruthers, former CEO of Crown Resorts, as its new chief executive officer, effective immediately.
Carruthers becomes the regulator’s second permanent CEO, succeeding Kevin Mullally, who stepped down in November 2025 citing family reasons. GCGRA Chairman Jim Murren has held the interim CEO role since Mullally’s departure.
Background and Career
Carruthers brings senior executive experience across several major casino operators in Asia and Australia. Before his appointment at the GCGRA, he served as CEO of Crown Resorts until 31 December 2024. Prior to that, he held executive positions at Galaxy Entertainment Group, Sands China and Wynn Macau, including the role of chief operating officer at Wynn Macau.
His tenure at Crown Resorts was defined by the company’s remediation programme following regulatory investigations that identified anti-money laundering failures, inadequate responsible gambling controls, and links to criminal activity — findings detailed in the Bergin Report. The investigations led to Crown being deemed unsuitable to hold casino licences in New South Wales and Victoria.
Remediation efforts under Carruthers progressed to the point where regulators revisited those findings. In 2024, the Victoria Gambling and Casino Control Commission determined that corrective measures were addressing previous deficiencies and allowed Crown to retain its casino licence. Crown Sydney received a full unrestricted licence the same year.
GCGRA Context
The GCGRA was established in September 2022 as the UAE began constructing a regulated commercial gaming framework. Under Mullally’s tenure, the authority oversaw the launch of The UAE Lottery in December 2024 through The Game LLC, a Momentum-owned company. The GCGRA also awarded the country’s first commercial gaming licence to Wynn’s integrated resort project in Ras Al Khaimah in October 2024.
The authority now enters a new phase of development with the UAE’s regulated gaming sector expanding and the Wynn Al Marjan Island project moving toward opening.
“The UAE is establishing itself as a global benchmark for modern and responsible gaming regulation, and I look forward to working closely with the team, licensees, and government partners to deliver on that ambition.” — Ciarán Carruthers, CEO, GCGRA
Murren described the appointment as bringing the right calibre of leadership to the role, citing Carruthers’ track record of building relationships with governments, regulators and industry partners across multiple jurisdictions.
Significance of the Appointment
Appointing an executive with direct experience managing a casino operator through regulatory remediation carries a specific logic for a regulator still building its framework. Carruthers has sat on the other side of the oversight relationship — navigating enforcement, restructuring compliance operations, and working to restore regulatory confidence — experience that is directly relevant to the GCGRA’s position as the UAE scales its commercial gaming sector.
The UAE gaming market had 17 licensed gaming vendors at the start of 2026, with further licensing activity expected as the sector matures. Carruthers’ immediate priorities are likely to include consolidating the regulatory infrastructure ahead of the Wynn integrated resort opening and progressing the B2B vendor licensing environment.
Source: GCGRA
