Eighteen-year-old Indian expatriate student and a 55-year-old Emirati respectively take home a million dollars each in the Dubai Duty Free raffle.
In a recent turn of events, two individuals, an 18-year-old Indian expat student and a 55-year-old Emirati father of four, have each won $1 million in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire raffles. This marks a significant milestone in the long-running promotion, with the Emirati winner, Mansour Al Hashemi, making his first appearance on the winners' list.
Mansour Al Hashemi, a regular participant in the Dubai Duty Free promotion, purchased his winning ticket on July 27, before his travel to Bahrain. He was thrilled to learn that his ticket number 0548 in Series 511 had secured him the grand prize. The Emirati expressed his gratitude towards Dubai Duty Free for the life-changing win. However, he did not disclose his plans for the prize money.
On the other hand, Wayne Nash D'Souza, born and raised in Dubai, is no stranger to the Millennium Millionaire draw. He and his family are frequent ticket purchasers, and their persistence paid off when he won in Series 510 with ticket number 4463. The 18-year-old Indian expat student, who is set to begin university life at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studying aerospace engineering, expressed his excitement about the win and stated he will put the money to good use, including funding his education, buying property, or investing in Dubai.
The Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire raffle has been a popular attraction since its launch in 1999, with at least 254 Indian nationals winning $1 million each over the years. This figure, according to the latest verified count reported in 2025, includes many Indian expats living in Dubai, making up a significant portion of the winners.
Notable recent Indian expat winners include Venugopal Passam, a 31-year-old Indian expat living in Sharjah, who won $1 million in April 2025. In July 2025, a group of 10 Indian expats from Kerala living in Dubai jointly won $1 million by sharing a single ticket purchase. Another notable winner, Ratheeshkumar Raveendran Nair, a 45-year-old Kerala-born Indian expat living in Dubai, won $1 million in 2019 and later won additional prizes from Dubai Duty Free draws.
These examples illustrate the active participation and frequent wins of Indian nationals over the years, with Indian expats topping the list of ticket buyers and winners. While an exact count of Indian expats living in Dubai who have won since 1999 is not explicitly given, the 254 Indian national winners number (which includes many Indian expats in Dubai) from the official record cited in 2025 is the most authoritative figure available. This number likely covers the majority of Indian expat winners in Dubai during this period.
This latest win by Mansour Al Hashemi marks the first mention of an Emirati national winning the coveted million-dollar prize, adding to the diversity of winners in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire raffle.
- The Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire raffle has been a significant source of big-wins for individuals on social media, with the latest winner, Mansour Al Hashemi, sharing his gratitude after winning $1 million.
- Education is a potential beneficiary of the recent big-win by Wayne Nash D'Souza, a 18-year-old Indian expat student who plans to use his winnings to fund his university education.
- Following the latest win, the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire raffle has garnered attention not just in news related to travel and entertainment, but also health and real estate, as winners such as Wayne are deciding how to use their newfound wealth for life-changing opportunities.
- As more people turn to casino-and-gambling, lotteries, and other forms of entertainment for big-wins, the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire raffle stands as a notable example of an accessible opportunity for individuals to secure significant prizes, with the winning pool including a diverse range of nationalities like Emiratis, Indians, and others.
