Understanding the economic and real estate impact of the creation of a gaming industry in Dubai
28 March 2023

The MRS Census and GeoDems group champions new thinking and new talent; one area they have been particularly impressed with is the CDRC Masters Dissertation Scheme (MDS)

This programme offers an exciting opportunity to link students on Masters courses with leading retail companies on projects which are important to the retail industry. The scheme provides the opportunity to work directly with an industrial partner and to link students’ research to important retail and ‘open data’ sources. The project titles are devised by retailers and are open to students from a wide range of disciplines.

MRS CGG are proud to have been granted permission to publish abstracts from the dissertations and we are sure the students have a great future ahead of them.

This abstract is by Ankur Shanker

Title: Understanding the economic and real estate impact of the creation of a gaming industry in Dubai

Academic Institution: University College London

Industry Sponsor: Knight Frank

The Emirate of Dubai has an economy that has long been characterised by a pattern of economic diversification, a process that has involved sustained investment in diverse industries, many of which are fundamentally disassociated with the extraction of petroleum and related products.

A significant increase in the profitability of gaming related activities in a number of diverse geographic locations across the world, has opened the potential for Dubai to continue this pattern of economic diversification, via investment in the development of Casinos and other gaming related facilities.

The subject of my research paper explores this topic and highlights several counter-intuitive trends that are associated with proximity to gaming related geospatial hotspots, and hospitality and housing valuations in a number of city-state-based locales, with a particular emphasis on Singapore.

The study was conducted using four separate regression models, with one set of models addressing research objectives relating to the relationship between housing and hospitality valuations and geospatial characteristics (with an emphasis on proximity to a Casino) in the city-state of Singapore, whereas the other set of models explore these same relationships with shopping malls substituted in place of Casinos in Dubai.

The research conducted reveals a negative correlation between housing valuations and proximity to Casinos in Singapore, this leads to a recommendation that gaming locations in Dubai be developed in regions that are further away from high valuation housing projects, while incentivising the development of relatively lower cost housing in regions of Dubai that lack substantial residential development.

Such a development will both reduce the likelihood of a decrease in the valuation of residential properties in Dubai and increase the potential for gains in the Emirate’s housing industry via the development of lower cost housing.
Similarly, the study found negative correlations between factors associated with the presence of Casinos and the rates of hotel rooms, leading to a recommendation that gaming facilities be developed further away from existing hospitality venues so as to reduce any negative impact on the rates of hotel rooms in Dubai.

The study acknowledges limitations related to the nature of the data that was collected (such as inflationary pressures), statistical limitations (related to regression analysis), and highlights ethical concerns associated with such developments.