Prize-Draw Software for UAE Retailers and Shopping Malls: Features, DET Permit Requirements and Campaign Management

Purchase-linked prize draws are one of the most visible retail promotions in the UAE. Shoppers spend, receive entries and wait for a supervised draw. Behind every well-run campaign sits software that has to do two jobs at once: make entering effortless for shoppers, and keep a clean, auditable record for the authority that issued the permit.

This guide is for mall marketing teams, retail chains and consumer brands planning a draw in the UAE. It explains the permit landscape, then walks through each part of a prize-draw platform: the customer app, receipt verification, the retailer portal, campaign management, winner selection and the admin dashboard.

How the UAE’s biggest campaigns already work

Dubai’s own festival campaigns show the model buyers now expect.

• Great Dubai Summer Sale, Shop, Scan & Win (2025).
  Run by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an affiliate of Dubai DET. Shoppers scanned a QR code in participating stores and uploaded their receipt. Every AED 300 spent earned one digital raffle coupon, confirmed by email with a serial number, up to 100 coupons per invoice. Winners were picked by an official of the inspection team using an online randomiser (DFRE terms and conditions).
  
• Win Your Home in Dubai (2026).
  Led by DFRE and Dubai Chambers across more than 1,000 brands and 3,500 outlets. Every qualifying purchase of AED 500 or more earned one draw entry (Emirates 24|7).
  
• Dubai Shopping Festival mega raffle.
  DET ran raffle sales across the 38 days of DSF, from 5 December 2025 to 11 January 2026 (DET press release).

The pattern is consistent: a purchase threshold, digital entries tied to a receipt, identity checks and an officially supervised random draw. A mall or brand running its own campaign needs the same building blocks, under its own permit.

Why paper coupons no longer hold up

Paper coupon drums make duplicate entries hard to catch and winner records slow to compile. They also give shoppers no proof that their entry counted. Dubai’s regulator moved the same way: in 2021 Dubai Economy launched Dubai Raffles, a digital platform for managing raffle draws and Scratch & Win campaigns (Dubai Media Office). Retailers that digitise entries, verification and reporting are aligning with where supervision is already heading.

DET permit requirements and UAE rules your software must support

The permit belongs to the retailer or mall, not the software vendor. Good software makes the permit conditions easy to follow and easy to prove. The points below summarise official and legal sources; confirm current requirements with the relevant authority before each campaign.

Dubai: DET promotion permits

• A permit is mandatory.
  Dubai Economy (now part of Dubai DET) has stated that, as well as a valid trade licence, a permit is mandatory for any promotional offer (Dubai Media Office, 2020).
  
• Draws must be supervised.
  The same announcement said any raffle held without a Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection (CCCP) inspector is deemed illegal. After the campaign, the business reports the results, including winners’ names and prize type and value. Any prize a winner does not receive is handed to Dubai Economy.
  
• Digital supervision exists.
  Dubai Raffles automates campaign procedures, removing the need for an inspector to attend the draw location for campaigns run through it (Dubai Media Office, 2021). In 2021, Idealz became the first e-commerce platform to run a campaign through full electronic integration with Dubai Raffles (Albawaba).
  
• Entries cannot be sold.
  Under the DED Permit Guidebook, raffle tickets may not be sold for cash; they can be given out when goods or services are bought. Permits cover benefits, incentives, in-kind prizes or vouchers, and cash-prize draws are prohibited for private promotions (Al Tamimi & Company).
  
• Arabic terms and a time limit.
  According to DLA Piper’s summary, the draw’s terms and conditions must be in Arabic, and a single promotion should not run longer than two months (DLA Piper).
  
• Festival participation.
  To run promotions, including raffles, during DFRE festivals and events, retailers apply for a certificate of participation through the DET Connect portal, using their trade licence; pop-up kiosks need a venue NOC (Dubai DET).

Abu Dhabi and ADGM

• Abu Dhabi mainland.
  The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development issued a resolution covering advertising and promotional permits, including permits for raffle draw competitions (ADDED).
  
• ADGM (Al Maryah and Al Reem Islands).
  Under the Sales and Promotions Rules 2025, prize draws need a permit whether or not entry requires a purchase. The Registrar may ask for prize descriptions, the winner selection process, draw dates and eligibility criteria. A promotion cannot start while the application is under review (ADGM guidance, July 2026).
  
• Other emirates.
  A campaign aimed at shoppers in another emirate may need that emirate’s permit too (Al Tamimi & Company).

The federal line: promotion, not lottery

Lotteries are regulated federally by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), and the UAE has a single national lottery licence holder. A promotional draw must stay a promotion: shoppers buy real goods and receive free entries. A platform that sells entries directly moves into lottery territory. Sigosoft’s guide How Raffle Apps Work Legally in Dubai covers this distinction in more depth.

What this means for the software

This section is general information, not legal advice. Work with your legal adviser and the issuing authority on your specific campaign.

How prize-draw software works: the complete workflow

A complete platform has six connected parts. Shoppers see only the app; the mall team, participating retailers and the authority each rely on the parts behind it.

prize-draw software workflow · 6 parts

Campaign rules drive every check. Doubtful receipts go to the retailer’s review queue, and the draw runs only on the frozen pool of verified entries.

1. Customer app: registration and entries

The customer app, on iOS, Android and the web, is where shoppers join the campaign.

• Fast sign-up with mobile number and OTP, plus the eligibility data the campaign needs, such as age confirmation and Emirates ID or passport on request.
• Arabic and English throughout, including terms, prize pages and notifications.
• Campaign pages showing prizes, the spend threshold, the campaign period and draw dates.
• Entry wallet listing every receipt submitted, its status and the entry numbers issued.
• Notifications by push, SMS, email or WhatsApp when a receipt is approved, entries are issued and winners are announced.
• Winners section with draw records, building trust in the next campaign.

For malls, a QR code on in-store point-of-sale material can open the campaign directly, the same entry route DFRE used for Shop, Scan & Win.

2. Receipt verification

Receipt verification decides who gets entries, so it is where most fraud is stopped.

1. Capture.
   The shopper photographs the receipt, or enters an invoice number, or a cashier scans a code at checkout.
   
2. Read.
   Optical character recognition (OCR) extracts the store, date, invoice number and amount.
   
3. Validate.
   Rules check that the store is participating, the receipt is dated inside the campaign period, the amount meets the threshold and the invoice has not been used before.
   
4. Match.
   Where retailers share sales data through a POS or e-commerce integration, the platform matches the receipt against the actual transaction.
   
5. Review.
   Unclear or suspicious receipts go to a review queue for the mall or retailer team.
   
6. Issue entries.
   Entries are calculated from the amount (for example one per AED 300) and capped per invoice where the terms set a limit.

Every decision is logged: who approved what, when and why. That log is what you show an inspector if an entry is challenged.

3. Retailer portal

In a mall campaign, dozens or hundreds of tenants take part. Each needs a simple web portal to:

• register its outlet and staff users;
• upload sales data or connect its POS so receipts can be matched;
• review flagged receipts from its own store;
• download QR posters and in-store material;
• see how many entries its outlet has generated.

Role-based access keeps each retailer to its own data while the mall sees the whole campaign.

4. Campaign management

The campaign module is where the marketing team sets the rules the rest of the system enforces.

• Campaign name, period and the emirate or zone it covers.
• Spend thresholds, entries per threshold and caps per invoice or per shopper.
• Participating outlets and categories, including exclusions.
• Prizes, with descriptions, quantities and values for the permit file.
• Draw schedule: one grand draw, weekly draws, or both.
• Bilingual terms and conditions, versioned so you can prove which terms applied to each entry.
• Permit details recorded against the campaign, such as the permit reference and its conditions.

5. Winner selection

The draw has to be fair, repeatable and witnessed.

• Frozen entry pool.
  Entries are locked at the close time; the pool’s size and a summary are recorded before the draw.
  
• Random selection using a cryptographically secure random number generator, with each step written to a tamper-evident log.
  
• Inspector mode.
  A draw screen designed to be run live in front of the DET inspector, or streamed for transparency.
  
• Reserve winners, drawn in order, for winners who are ineligible or do not respond.
  
• Verification and claim.
  The winner is checked against eligibility rules, contacted and asked to confirm within the period your terms set; acceptance and handover are recorded.
  
• Results report.Winners, prizes, values and unclaimed prizes export in the format the authority asks for.

Where a campaign must run through Dubai Raffles, the platform can push entries and pull results through an integration instead of running its own draw.

6. Admin dashboard

The admin dashboard gives management a live view of the campaign and the audit trail behind it.

• Shoppers registered, receipts submitted, approved and rejected.
• Entries issued, by outlet, category and day.
• Spend generated by the campaign, by outlet.
• Fraud flags: repeated invoices, unusual volumes from one account or device.
• Draw history, winner status and prize handover.
• One-click exports for the permit authority, finance and tenants.

Feature checklist for UAE prize-draw software

Use this list when comparing vendors or scoping your own platform.

Integrations

A campaign is only as accurate as the sales data behind it. Common integrations include:

• POS and ERP systems, to match receipts to real transactions;
• e-commerce stores, for online purchases that earn entries;
• SMS, email, push and WhatsApp Business API for notifications;
• payment gateways, where the campaign includes an online shop;
• Dubai Raffles, where the authority requires campaigns to run through it.

Sigosoft’s Raffle App Development platform lists an open API and webhooks, multiple payment gateways and WhatsApp Business among its integrations, and its WhatsApp Business API Integration and E-commerce Development teams can connect the campaign to existing systems.

Security and data protection

Prize-draw platforms hold names, phone numbers, ID details and purchase records. Expect:

• encryption in transit and at rest;
• role-based access, so a retailer sees only its outlet and staff see only what their role needs;
• audit logs for every approval, rejection, draw and prize handover;
• clear retention rules for ID documents and receipts after the campaign closes.

Sigosoft develops under ISO/IEC 27001:2022-certified information security practices.

Sigosoft’s raffle, draw and rewards projects

Sigosoft has designed and built draw, raffle and rewards platforms across several markets. Two recent projects show the components a UAE campaign needs.

Don Rifa: raffle and rewards platform

Don Rifa is a raffle and rewards platform for Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the United States, built as a Flutter mobile app and a React.js website on a Laravel backend.

• Physical-to-digital entries. Users enter a printed ticket code and add it to a digital Ticket Wallet, then use it in active raffles. This is the same pattern a mall needs to turn receipts into digital entries.
• OTP account verification, payments, a merchandise shop and a winners section.
• Raffle rules, terms, “No Purchase Necessary” information and regulatory details kept easy to find.

Norbiz Lotto: lottery app and website

Norbiz Lotto is a digital lottery platform for the Haitian market, on mobile and web. It supports several game formats, number selection, a wallet, draw schedules, results and bet history, with OTP login and published anti-fraud and under-18 policies.

Norbiz Lotto is a lottery product for a market where that model applies. In the UAE, a retailer’s promotional draw cannot sell entries. What carries over is the engineering: scheduled draws, results publishing, user verification and transaction records.

Rewards and loyalty work

Sigosoft’s portfolio also includes Oppa Star, a points-based rewards platform with live lucky draws for the UAE, and the ZB Loyalty System, which lets merchants process customer loyalty transactions. Draws often work best alongside loyalty: see Loyalty App Development and Why UAE Businesses Prefer White Label Loyalty Apps.

Why choose Sigosoft for your prize-draw platform?

• A ready raffle platform, customised to your campaign.
  Sigosoft’s raffle platform already includes a customer app, admin app, campaign and ticket management, winner selection, live-streamed draws, KYC and ticket limits, and reports for regulators, so you start from working software, not a blank page.
  
• Built around the promotion model.
  Sigosoft designs UAE draw platforms as purchase-linked promotions, with free entries issued against real purchases.
  
• Delivery projects in raffle, lottery and rewards, including Don Rifa and Norbiz Lotto.
  
• ISO/IEC 27001:2022-certified information security practices.
  
• 100% IP yours by contract, with a signed IP ownership agreement on every project.
  
• One accountable manager and SLA-backed support after launch, including through Managed Software and AMC.
  
• Full-stack team for custom mobile apps, Flutter, Laravel and web apps, plus mobile app testing before your campaign goes live.

Planning a mall or retail prize draw? Tell us your campaign dates, number of outlets and prizes. We will show you the platform live and send a scope, timeline and fixed quote. Get a free demo and quote

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to run a prize draw in Dubai?
Yes. Dubai DET requires a promotion permit as well as a valid trade licence, and draws must be supervised. Confirm the current process with DET before you launch.

Can shoppers buy raffle tickets for a mall promotion?
No. In a promotional draw, entries are given free with qualifying purchases. Selling entries directly is lottery activity, which the UAE regulates separately through the GCGRA.

How does receipt verification stop fraud?
The platform reads each receipt, checks the store, date, amount and invoice number, blocks invoices already used and sends doubtful receipts to a review queue. Matching against retailers’ sales data closes most remaining gaps.

Can the draw be done in front of a DET inspector?
Yes. The draw screen runs a logged random selection from a frozen entry pool, so it can be witnessed live and repeated from the record.

Can one platform run campaigns in Dubai and Abu Dhabi?
Yes, but each emirate, and ADGM, has its own permit. The platform should hold separate permit records and terms per campaign.

How long does it take to launch?
Sigosoft states that a first version of its raffle platform can go live in one to two weeks. Integrations with POS systems or Dubai Raffles, and the permit lead time, will set your real launch date.

Ready to run your next campaign on software you can prove?
Talk to Sigosoft or explore our Raffle App Development platform.

Official UAE sources:

• Dubai DET: retail promotion certificate of participation
• Dubai DET: DSF mega raffle press release
• DFRE: Great Dubai Summer Sale Shop, Scan & Win rules (2025)
• Dubai Media Office: Dubai Economy promotion permits and raffle supervision (2020)
• Dubai Media Office: Dubai Raffles platform launch (2021)
• ADDED: resolution on advertising and promotional permits
• ADGM: Guidance on Commercial Permits, Sales and Promotions (July 2026)

Legal and news sources:

• Al Tamimi & Company: Promotional activities in Dubai
• Al Tamimi & Company: Sales promotions in the UAE
• DLA Piper: Prize promotions, UAE (Dubai)
• Emirates 24|7: Win Your Home in Dubai
• Albawaba: Dubai Raffles and Idealz integration

Written by

Praveen Soman CEO, Sigosoft

Technology entrepreneur and digital product strategist with a passion for building scalable software products and solving real-world business challenges. Enjoys exploring AI, emerging technologies, startups, and the ideas shaping the future of technology.

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