UAE lottery draw leaves Dh100m jackpot unclaimed

The UAE Lottery’s inaugural draw on Saturday saw nearly 30,000 participants share Dh3.5 million ($953,000) in prize money, but the Dh100 million ($27.2m) jackpot remains unclaimed. According to The National, the much-anticipated event, hosted by Diala Makki and Chadi Khalaf, was streamed live on YouTube in both Arabic and English, drawing over 36,000 views by yesterday afternoon.

The lottery, launched on 27 November and regulated by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, requires players to select six “lucky days” from numbers 1 to 31 and one “lucky month” from numbers 1 to 12. The draw uses two machines to pick the winning numbers at random. The move comes after years of the Gulf state having several privately-helmed lotteries and draws.

Congratulations to all the winners from tonight’s Lucky Day Draw #241214! 🎉
Check your tickets and find the latest draw results on our website.#TheUAELottery #LuckyDay #Congratulations #DareToImagine pic.twitter.com/8rMXPAEML3

— The UAE Lottery (@theuaelottery) December 14, 2024

Despite the excitement, no player matched all seven numbers to secure the top prize. The one million dirham ($272,000) second prize, for selecting six “lucky days”, also went unclaimed. The next draw is scheduled for 28 December.

The launch follows the October announcement that hotel and casino operator Wynn Resorts was awarded the UAE’s first commercial gaming operator’s licence. The Las Vegas-based company is developing a luxury resort at Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al-Khaimah.

The project, currently under construction, is a joint venture between Wynn Resorts, Marjan and RAK Hospitality Holding.

Gambling is forbidden — haram — in Islam. The faith is supposed to be the official religion in the UAE, with 75 per cent of the population, not just citizens, listed as being Muslims.

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