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UAE Lottery operator in talks to sell tickets in shops

Men queue for tickets at a lottery stand in Turkey. The UAE Lottery has a weekly jackpot of AED100m Yusuf Emir Han/Pexels
Men queue for tickets at a lottery stand in Turkey. The UAE Lottery has a weekly jackpot of AED100m
  • Draw began in December
  • Tickets available online
  • 500,000 registered users

The UAE Lottery’s operator is in talks to sell tickets in shops across the country.

The weekly draw and spin-off games were launched in December, for online play only.

Bishop Woosley, director of lottery operations at The Game, which manages the draw, said discussions had been held with retailers to allow ticket sales as early as the summer. 

“We are absolutely open for business and want to talk with retailers, whether it be corporates or some of the independents, to be sure that we have maximum coverage and that we are able to sell our products in the retail environment,” he told AGBI.

“I am having some conversations”, Woosley added.

The lottery was given the go-ahead last year by the UAE’s General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, which was set up in 2023 to set a framework for a national lottery and regulate commercial gaming.

The UAE Lottery already has about 500,000 registered users. The weekly top prize is AED100 million ($27.2 million), with no option for the pot to be rolled over as often happens in the US or UK.

Woosley said he hoped the UAE would soon be able to host mega-million-dirham draws.

“Absolutely that is in the plan,” he said. “No promises, but we’d like to get one that gets up there.”

The largest jackpot for a single ticket in the US was $997 million in a 2022 draw. The EuroMillions lottery paid out £195 million ($242 million) to a UK ticket holder in the same year.

“The intent is at some point, as we mature and really understand the players and the dynamic here, we will launch jackpots that will be somewhat similar to what you’re used to,” said Woosley, a former director of the Office of the Arkansas Lottery in the US.

Tickets for the main draw are priced at AED50, with the odds of matching the required seven numbers close to 9 million to 1. This is a similar probability to flipping a coin and getting heads 23 times in a row.

No one has matched seven numbers in the UAE Lottery’s first two months. One person has matched six to win AED1 million and four players have won AED100,000 by matching five numbers.

Woosley remained coy on the profit margins targeted by The Game. “The focus is on delivering a compelling experience within a framework that supports long-term viability,” he said.

In the UK, a 12 percent share of National Lottery income goes to the government in lottery duty, 4 percent to retailers as commission and 5 percent to the operator (4 points to cover operating costs and 1 point as profit).

Woosley said a percentage of UAE Lottery earnings was given to the regulatory authority, but did not offer further details.