All about the ₹240 crore UAE lottery won by 29-year-old Indian

The winner, identified as Anilkumar Bolla Madhavrao Bolla from South India, was officially announced in a video released by The UAE Lottery on Monday.

The draw was held on October 18 as part of the 23rd Lucky Day event, where the 29-year-old beat odds of over 1 in 8.8 million to secure the historic win, according to a report by Gulf News.

What is the jackpot?

The UAE Lottery’s first-ever Dh100 million jackpot is a record-breaking grand prize offered in the country’s new national lottery system, called the Lucky Day Draw.

It’s a digital raffle where participants buy a Dh100 ticket and receive a random entry number.

During each draw, a set of winning numbers is selected, and if a ticket matches all the numbers, the holder wins the jackpot.

The UAE Lottery, also called The Big Ticket or UAE Lucky Day Draw (depending on the organiser), is a licensed lottery system in the UAE.

You buy a ticket, either online through the official UAE Lottery website or in person at authorized outlets in places like Abu Dhabi Airport.

Each ticket costs a fixed amount, usually Dh100. Every ticket has a unique number, and once purchased, it automatically enters the upcoming draw.

Draws are held periodically (for example, once a month). During each event, a random draw is conducted, usually with supervision from officials, to pick the winning numbers.

Winners are announced through live-streamed or recorded events, and their ticket numbers are verified before the prize is awarded.

How is it different from other lotteries?

The Dh100 million jackpot that Anilkumar Bolla won was part of the “Lucky Day” draw, which is similar to other raffle-style lotteries.

The winner doesn’t need to pick numbers like in traditional lotteries; rather, their ticket number itself is the entry, and a randomised system selects the winner.

Smaller cash prizes are also given to runners-up, and the winning amount is tax-free in the UAE.

It is a new government-approved digital lottery where participants buy Dh100 tickets and are entered into random software-based draws.

Unlike the older Big Ticket Abu Dhabi raffle, which costs Dh500 and uses physical draws at the airport, the UAE Lottery is fully online and recently made headlines with its record Dh100 million jackpot — the biggest ever in the UAE.