A UAE resident struck it lucky to become the first winner of the Dh100 million jackpot prize in the country's national lottery.
No player had previously selected all seven winning numbers needed to secure the life-changing fortune since the UAE Lottery was launched in December. The long wait is now over, with attention turning to the identity of the history-making ticket holder.
The mysterious player overcame daunting odds of 8,835,372 to 1 to pick out all seven winning numbers on Saturday night. The UAE Lottery announced the milestone moment on social media following the latest fortnightly Lucky Day draw.
Lottery organisers have not yet revealed any further details about the ticket holder and it is not clear if the winner will claim the fortune solely or share it as part of a syndicate.
“The Dh100 million grand prize has been won,” the UAE Lottery's official account said on social media. “Tonight’s Lucky Day Draw crowned our very first Dh100 million winner. Congratulations to the grand prize winner – and to all our other winners.”
How does the lottery work?
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 website to participate. There are 43 numbers to pick from.
The winning numbers for the Dh100m top prize were 7,10,11,18, 25 and 29, with the month number being 11.
The national lottery draw is held every second Saturday and is streamed live at 8.30pm on the UAE Lottery YouTube channel. Participants must be residents within the UAE who are at least 18. Some independent prize draws allow players to enter if based overseas.
The authorised lottery was 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 2023 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 last year, with the GCGRA awarding a licence for the national lottery in July to Game LLC under the banner of the UAE Lottery.
