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Dubai’s DMCC Gaming Centre Adds To A $1.8B Industry
The popularity of gaming has exploded across the MENA region, with Dubai aiming to become the regional capital for talented developers and startups.
Dubai’s DMCC (a flagship free trade zone at the center of the Jumeirah Lakes Towers district) has announced the opening of the DMCC Gaming Centre. The move comes as MENA gaming revenues are predicted to top $5 billion by 2025, with Dubai’s own economy increasingly benefiting from a thriving Esports and gaming scene, as well as a concerted push to bring VR and Metaverse startups to the region.
The DMCC is already home to over 50 games companies, with developers, producers, and Esports teams flocking to this increasingly popular destination. Dubai’s world-class infrastructure and unparalleled economic opportunities make the new DMCC gaming center an enticing proposition for startups. Members will gain access to the Esports community through regular networking events, tournaments, and more, along with support from Esports organization YaLLa , and tech ecosystem builder Astrolabs.
Earlier this year, DMCC joined global VC firm Brinc to open up $150 million in accelerator program funding — known as ZK Advancer and The Sandbox Metaverse — as developers continue experimenting with the massive potential of blockchain and web3 technologies.
Also Read: Metaverse Will Bring $15B Annually To Gulf Economies By 2030
“As our roster of gaming companies expands rapidly and we see more DMCC Crypto Centre members enter the blockchain gaming space, there is no better time to formalize our efforts by opening the DMCC Gaming Centre. Through this facility, we will solidify Dubai’s position as a global hub for all gaming and Esports,” says Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC.
Gaming is now the most popular form of digital entertainment worldwide, and research undertaken by DMCC shows that 8 out of 10 people from gen Z and the millennial demographic are gamers. Enthusiasts spend upwards of seven hours each week on their hobby, and 10% of the entire online population now enjoys Esports tournaments.
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Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget
The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
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