Timor-Leste has awarded its first offshore gambling license, calling the move a milestone in the broader push for economic diversification and digital sector development.
The contract was granted to Golden River Universe Lda (GRU), reports Asia Gaming Brief, following eight months of work by government officials and the Inspectorate General of Gaming (IGJ) to establish a regulatory framework that sets the tone for the type of tech-driven investment and employment Timor-Leste hopes to attract as the impoverished state pursues new income sources.
“This is more than just a license,” GRU CEO Datuk Harry Ng said at the signing in Dili. “It’s a platform for national growth and a signal that Timor-Leste is ready to engage with the global digital economy.”
GRU signed a memorandum of understanding last August with the government of Oecusse Ambeno, Timor-Leste’s only special administrative region, to develop a hotel in Oecusse into an offshore gambling hub with capacity to host up to 1,000 foreign employees.
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Ng described the hub as the “first phase” in a plan to invest more than US$100 million over the next 10 years to build one of Asia’s best offshore gaming operation centres.
GRU’s parent company Grand Dragon Lotaria (GDLotto), is currently licensed in more than 10 countries, including Cambodia and Nigeria. It will be relocating key support divisions from Cambodia and the Philippines to Timor-Leste.
As part of the new concession, GRU will also be representing Timor-Leste at upcoming global gaming events alongside the IGJ, including SiGMA Asia 2025.
The four-day gathering in June is expected to exceed last year’s event, which welcomed 17,00 attendees from 154 countries around the world, and offer a platform to highlight Timor-Leste’s new offshore gambling model.
