UAE Lottery reveals first name of second Dh30m winner: Is it an Indian expat again?

Dubai: The UAE Lottery has kicked off July with its second-ever Dh30 million Grand Prize winner, and an early clue on the operator's website is already fuelling speculation about who has just become a multi-millionaire.

The second winner of the Dh30m Grand Prize emerged in a Wednesday draw on July 1.

In Lucky Day Draw No. 260701, the winning numbers in the Days section were 9, 1, 15, 20, 19, 25, while the winning number in the Months section was 6.

One lucky winner matched all seven numbers to hit the jackpot.

The lottery operator has revealed the winner's first name as Sunilku**S**, following the same partial-reveal format it used for the country's first Dh30 million Lucky Day winner just weeks ago.

The masked name strongly suggests "Sunilkumar," a name common among Indian expats in the UAE, raising the question of whether a second Indian resident has now struck the jackpot, months after an Indian IT professional became the UAE Lottery's one and only Dh100 million winner in 2025.

Regular participants have already raised their doubts on social media about the latest winner also hailing from India.

First name reveal

The UAE Lottery has a track record of offering the public only a partial glimpse of big winners' identities before the full name and story are released later.

It followed the same practice when it first identified the country's inaugural Dh30 million winner as Tayab K** in May, weeks before his full identity was confirmed. The same was the case when Anilkumar Bolla hit the jackpot in the previous format of the lottery with a Dh100m Grand Prize.

If the pattern holds, the complete name, nationality and background of Sunilku**S**, should be made public in the coming days.

Whether the winner turns out to be another Indian expat following in Bolla's footsteps, or a name that leads elsewhere entirely, remains to be seen.

Wednesday's other winners

While Sunilku**S** walked away with the Dh30 million top prize, the Dh5 million second prize went unclaimed, meaning that amount will roll over into the next draw.

Two participants also picked up Dh100,000 each in the third prize category after matching five Days numbers along with the single winning Months number.

Their first names have been revealed as Katheri**C** and Annie V**

Three more players secured the guaranteed Dh50,000 Lucky Chance ID prize. The winning IDs were BX4872387, BV4695094 and BW743599.

First Dh30m winner

Wednesday's win marks only the second time the Dh30 million Grand Prize has been claimed since the lottery's format was overhauled in late 2025, when the Dh100 million jackpot was replaced with a smaller but more frequent Dh30 million prize awarded twice a week.

The first winner under the new format was revealed only as Tayab K** on the lottery's website on May 28, after hitting the jackpot on Lucky Day Draw No. 260527, held on the first day of Eid Al Adha, April 27. His full identity followed on June 2, when the UAE Lottery confirmed he was Tayab Khan, a Nepalese resident of Abu Dhabi.

Days later, an even bigger story emerged: Khan, a 26-year-old security guard who had worked with a company in the Ruwais Industrial Area for four years, had not won alone. He shared the Dh30 million with four close friends who called themselves the Future Millionaires, pooling their money and taking turns picking numbers. Each of the five friends took home Dh6 million.

Khan later told Gulf News he planned to quit his security job, buy a Mahindra Thar Jeep and a Rolex watch, and build a dream house for his family in Nepal, while also eyeing an apartment investment in Dubai as he looks to move into entrepreneurship.