The UAE's first authorised national lottery will hold its inaugural draw today, with a Dh100 million jackpot up for grabs.
Tickets – which cost Dh50 – can be purchased on the UAE Lottery website. The first live draw will take place at 8.30pm on Saturday, December 14, and will be broadcast on the lottery operator's YouTube channel. Draws will be held every two weeks.
How it works
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.
Lottery players who pick all seven numbers are in line for the top prize, with those who pick all six "Day" numbers scooping Dh1 million. Cash prizes range from Dh100 to Dh100 million.
Several scratch cards, offering winnings varying from Dh1 million to Dh50,000, have also been created by the Game LLC, which was selected to be the UAE's first operator of a licensed lottery in July.
They were selected by the UAE's General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority which said it marked a milestone in establishing a well-regulated commercial gaming sector in the country and described the move as a “pivotal” step for the Emirates at the time.
The GCGRA was established last September. It is led by gaming industry veterans and is the federal entity overseeing commercial gaming activities in the country.
Regulating the industry
The announcement of the live draw comes after a major shake-up of gaming activities. Some operators of UAE's prize draws were required in January to pause business.
One of the operators at the time said the pause was the result of an “industry-wide mandate” that was consistent with the regulators’ new role to create a well-regulated gaming environment in the country.
Before this, prize draws had drawn increasing numbers of participants hoping for significant windfalls. Since its formation in September, the GCGRA has sought to develop a regulatory framework to protect consumers and stakeholders.
It was underlined that engaging in, conducting, or enabling commercial gaming activities within the UAE without approval from the GCGRA is illegal and anyone flouting the rules could face severe penalties.
Playing as a consumer through unlicensed operators is also illegal, according to the GCGRA.
According to the GCGRA's website, it is the only entity that can regulate, license and supervise commercial gaming activities and centres within the UAE, which include lottery, internet gaming, sports wagering and land-based integrated gaming facilities or resorts.
“Commercial gaming” refers to “any game of chance, or combination of chance and skill, where an amount of money, in cash or cash equivalents, is wagered – placed as a bet – for the purpose of winning a sum of money or other valuable items”.
National gaming strategy
A multibillion-dollar mega resort in Ras Al Khaimah planned by a major US hotel operator recently secured a gaming licence from UAE authorities.
Wynn Resorts, which runs high-end hotel complexes in Las Vegas, Boston and the Chinese territory of Macau, said the UAE represented its most "exciting market for integrated resort development in decades" in an investors report shared last month said.
The $3.8 billion Wynn Al Marjan Island resort in Ras Al Khaimah will seek to "capture untapped domestic gaming demand" from the UAE's large expatriate community as well as draw in "high-end gaming clientele from abroad", the report states.
Wynn said construction on the five-star facility - which is scheduled to open in 2027 - was advancing rapidly. It said it expected the resort to deliver "meaningful long-term economic benefits to Ras Al Khaimah". The hotel developer and operator said the gaming licence issued by the GCGRA related to its property in Ras Al Khaimah.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
BeIN Sports currently has the rights to show
- Champions League
- English Premier League
- Spanish Primera Liga
- Italian, French and Scottish leagues
- Wimbledon and other tennis majors
- Formula One
- Rugby Union - Six Nations and European Cups
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Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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