UAE Lottery: Thousands win prizes in inaugural draw but wait goes on for first Dh100m jackpot winner

The country's first authorised national lottery draw was broadcast live on Saturday evening

The UAE held its first regulated national lottery draw on Saturday. Picture for illustrative purposes only. Photo: Jodi Jacobson

The UAE got the ball rolling on Saturday night for its inaugural national lottery draw with nearly 30,000 residents sharing about Dh3.5 million in prize money.

However, dreams of scooping the life-changing Dh100 million jackpot were put on hold – at least until the next draw on December 28 – as no player managed to pick out the seven winning numbers.

The Dh1 million second prize, for selecting six numbers, also went unclaimed during the landmark event, which was broadcast live on the YouTube channel of lottery operator, Game LLC.

As of midday on Sunday, the screening had received more than 36,000 views. The Lucky Day lottery draw was broadcast in both Arabic and English from a studio by presenters Diala Makki and Chadi Khalaf.

The winning balls were drawn at random from two lottery machines, one of which was used to select the six 'day' numbers and another to pick out the 'month' number.

How the game works

The Lucky Day lottery draw follows a calendar format, with players asked to select six numbers from a possible 31 from a 'day' section of the online draw card and one number from 12 in the 'month' section. Players must register on the official lottery website to participate. There are 43 numbers in total to pick from.

Lottery hopefuls can either choose their own numbers each game week or use the easy pick option on the website, which selects numbers at random. Draws will be held on a Saturday, every two weeks.

How many players struck it lucky?

Players who match all seven numbers – six from the 'day' section and the one number from the 'month' section are in line for the Dh100 million top prize. Should there be more than one winning ticket, the windfall will be shared equally.

A Dh1 million second prize is on offer for selecting all six 'day' numbers. In the milestone December 14 draw, no player had the good fortune to win either the Dh100 million top prize or the Dh1 million windfall.

Four players each won Dh100,000 after getting five 'day' numbers, plus the 'month' number. Another 211 players walked away with Dh1,000 for selecting either five 'day' numbers or four 'day' numbers and the 'month' number.

How to spend a fortune – in pictures

A total of 28,858 people earned Dh100 – doubling their money on the Dh50 ticket price – which is payable on selecting the 'month' number, even if you do not get any of the 'day' numbers.

The authorised lottery has been more than a year in the making and is the result of a major government drive to overhaul the UAE's commercial gaming sector. The General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority was established in September last year with the aim to shape a “world-leading regulatory framework for a national lottery and commercial gaming”.

Independent lottery operators were directed to pause their activities in January, with the GCGRA awarding a licence for the national lottery in July to Game LLC under the banner of UAE Lottery.

Will there be a rollover?

Some national lottery games around the world employ a rollover, in which the jackpot prize is carried over to the next drawing if there is no winner, meaning a Dh100 million prize would double to Dh200 million for the following draw, increasing by the jackpot amount in each subsequent drawing until there is a winner.

The UAE Lottery website, however, shows that the jackpot for the December 28 draw remains at Dh100 million, meaning that the jackpot prize resets for each individual drawing.

Who is eligible?

Participants must be residents within the UAE who are at least 18. Some independent prize draws had allowed players to enter if based overseas.

Do I need to register?

Players must register an account on the UAE Lottery website to be in be in with a chance of winning big. Users must provide their name, Emirates ID – to prove residence in the country – their date of birth, mobile number, email and create a password.

They will then be asked to verify their account by uploading or taking a picture of the front and back of their Emirates ID before being asked to take a 'selfie' – a picture of themselves – as part of tight security checks to ensure only eligible players take part.

What are the odds of winning?

As with any large lottery, the chances of winning the mega prize are slim but not impossible. The odds of matching all seven numbers for the Dh100 million jackpot are a daunting 8,835,372 to 1. Prospects increase as the cash prizes drop in value, with a one in 803,216 chance of securing the six balls needed for a cool Dh1 million. Winning the Dh100 prize is a mere one in 12 by comparison.