Raffle draws are known to have one thing in common – Impacting lives positively. The case is no different for one of the biggest raffle draw event which is hosted in the city of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates- Abu Dhabi Big Ticket. This is an event which can transform a low-class man to a multi-millionaire overnight, or become a luxury car owner without stress.
The Big Ticket of Abu Dhabi over the years has kept the legacy of transforming the lives of so many individuals by turning their long time dreams into a thing of reality. If you are not well informed about this raffle before now, who knows, you might be missing an opportunity of winning yourself that prize that will change your status for life, you can as well win that dream car you’ve always admired.
As a means of enlightenment on the Big Ticket, this piece will cover detailed information of what the raffle draw is all about, when it is done, how it is done, how much the tickets cost, as well as how you can partake in the draw.
What is Big Ticket?
Big Ticket is a raffle draw that is held every month in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE. Big-ticket cash price can go up to AED 20 million every month which makes it a very attractive opportunity. The latest improvements to it are exotic car draws like Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Corvette, as well as Ford.
Its first edition was done in 1992. As of that very year, the cash prize was AED1 million and has progressively become bigger over the years. The next draw features a BMW car and a Land Rover Jeep.
The ticket is not just available to the Emiratis (UAE citizens) alone, foreigners are also allowed to partake in the draw. Everybody competes on level ground with no priority given to a citizen over an expat. The live draw comes up at the beginning of every month at the arrival lobby of Terminal 1 of Abu Dhabi International Airport. The raffle is hosted by an English man named Richard. The draw lasts for about 2 hours, during which 10 tickets are selected, with the first ticket winning as low as AED10,000. The prize keeps increasing up to the grand prize which is Millions of Dirhams.
Cost of the Raffle Tickets
The cost of the Big-Ticket is dependent on the type of raffle draw you are interested in partaking in. As said earlier, there are two types of draws; the Cash prize draws as well as the Dream car draw. The ticket for the cash prize goes for AED 500, while that of the Dream cargoes for AED150.
Buying the ticket for the cash prize has bonus offers attached to it- you have the offer of getting one free ticket extra when you purchase two tickets. Note that the two tickets must be in a single transaction to be eligible for the bonus. If the two tickets are bought in different transactions, the bonus does not apply.
Where to purchase the raffle tickets
You have two options for purchasing the ticket which are;
- Purchase at designated centers
- Online purchase
Designated purchasing centers for Big-Ticket
One of the options for buying a ticket is to visit the locations where the tickets are sold. These locations are;
- Arrivals Hall, Abu Dhabi International Airport, Between Du and Travelex
- Terminal 1 Departures Tunnel, Abu Dhabi International Airport
- Terminal 1A Departures Duty-Free, Abu Dhabi International Airport
- Terminal 1 Arrivals Duty-Free, Abu Dhabi International Airport
- Terminal 2 Landside Area (Next to Relay, Abu Dhabi International Airport
- Terminal 2 Departures Duty-Free, Abu Dhabi International Airport
- Terminal 2 Arrivals Duty-Free, Abu Dhabi International Airport
- Terminal 3 Departures (Gate 28), Abu Dhabi International Airport
- Al-Ain Airport Landside Area (Next to Relay)
- Al-Ain Airport Departures Duty-free
These locations are available 24×7, so you can visit them at your convenience.
Buy UAE Big-Ticket Online
The second option is to buy from the official Big Ticket website. You might begin to wonder why the whole ticket centers are located in Abu Dhabi, does this mean residents of other Emirates of the UAE cannot partake in the raffle draw?
Simply put, residents of other Emirates can partake in the raffle draw, and that is where the online type of purchase comes in. Even People from other nationalities living outside the UAE can also partake in the draw, however, you need to be mindful of your local laws before entering any of the draws. You live anywhere outside Abu Dhabi, you don’t have to move down to Abu Dhabi just to get the raffle ticket, you can do that at the comfort of your room or office with your internet-enabled device, all thanks to technology. For easy navigation, below are a step by step approach to purchasing a Big Ticket online.
Guide on how to purchase the ticket online:
- Step #1: Go to www.bigticket.ae on your web browser.
- Step #2:
- Click on the “Sign in/Register” button displayed at the top-right corner of the home page. Login to your profile (if you already registered before), or create an account if you are new by clicking on the “Register” button.
- On the Registration page input your Mobile number, Email address, and Security code on the right (to verify that you are not a robot). Then click on the “Create an account” button. If the data provided are authenticated successfully, your new account will be created and then you can proceed to log in and go for the ticket of your choice.
- If you are an old user and seem to have forgotten your password, you need not create a new account, just make use of the “Forgot Password” option to recover your account.
- After successful login to your profile, the list of available raffle draws for the upcoming edition will load- the cash draw, as well as the car draws.
- Step #3:
- Click on the preferred draw and Select your preferred Raffle Numbers
- The site offers the option of using a filter to select your raffle number such as odd numbers, even numbers, using your date of birth, or even picking from lucky numbers of the winners from previous editions. Note that you can only select 10 tickets in a single transaction.
- Step #4:
- Checkout – This is where you will confirm your ticket details like your contact information, as well as your residential address. If okay with the information, accept terms and conditions and proceed to the next step. Make sure to read the terms and conditions attached before proceeding. So you know what you are agreeing to.
- Step #5:
- Make payment
- This is where you are directed to an online payment gateway to complete your transaction. Here you have the option of paying through American Express, Mastercard, or Visa card. Once payment is complete, a mail that includes your e-ticket is sent to the email addresses you provided during registration. The ticket can also be viewed on your login dashboard on the website.
- The sale of tickets runs from the first day of the sale to 11:59 pm of the last day. Should there be a problem while purchasing your ticket through the online process, you can request a refund only before the draw date. Requesting for a refund after the draw date is not welcomed and will not be attended to.
How can you view the live draw?
You can choose also to be live at the venue of the draw to view the whole process just like watching a live football match. The draw is also streamed live on the Big Ticket official Facebook page, so you can catch up even while your room.
How the winning tickets are selected
The whole tickets are gathered together in a vessel. Richard who is the host spins the tickets and selects a few tickets which he presents to one of the audience to select a ticket of choice, he then returns the rest tickets to the vessel. He then opens the selected ticket to announce the winner of the particular prize. The details of the winners are further uploaded on the Big ticket’s official website.
Furthermore, there is also a social media game you can partake in which is also a monthly game known as #BigTicketSelfie/#BigTicketLove. This game allows participants the opportunity of winning a free Big Ticket against the upcoming draw.
Having gotten a detailed information about the Big Ticket, what are you waiting for? You could be on your way to winning big.