UAE holds latest national lottery draw in search for first Dh100m jackpot winner

The Lucky Day draw is held every fortnight on a Saturday evening

The UAE will host its second regulated national lottery draw on Saturday. AFP

The UAE's national lottery makes its return on Saturday night, with players vying to be crowned the first Dh100m winner.

The inaugural Lucky Day lottery draw was held on Saturday, December 14, with nearly 30,000 players sharing about Dh3.5 million in prize money.

But both the Dh100m jackpot and Dh1m second prize proved elusive in the landmark event. The UAE's first authorised lottery is held every second Saturday, with tonight the latest opportunity to win big.

The draw takes place at 8.30pm and will be streamed live on the UAE Lottery YouTube channel.

How to play?

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.

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 first draw, 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.

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.

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.