Latest twist in Oilers 50/50: Draw postponed to give all ticket holders a chance for refunds
CBC News | Posted: August 10, 2020 4:28 PM | Last Updated: August 10, 2020
Instructions being sent Monday to everyone who bought tickets in record-setting raffle
A winner for the Edmonton Oilers' problem-plagued, record-setting 50/50 raffle will not be selected until overcharged fans have a chance to void their tickets.
The draw for Friday's contest will be postponed until at least the end of the week, the Oilers Entertainment Group announced in a news release .
Entrants have until 12 p.m. Thursday to have tickets voided and get a refund. A winner will not be selected until all those requests have been processed, the news release said.
The winning ticket was originally expected to be announced by no later than 11:30 p.m. on game night.
The total jackpot as of the end of sales would have seen the winner take home $7.6 million. That amount will decrease based on how many tickets are voided.
All customers who bought a raffle ticket will receive an email from the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation, which describes the process to keep or void their tickets.
"The winning ticket has yet to be drawn and all tickets remain valid for the largest 50/50 raffle in sports history," reads the email from the foundation.
"We understand the frustration created by the delay in resolution. We are excited to announce the winning ticket number once we resolve the many inquiries we received since Friday."
The raffle — which wrapped up Friday as Chicago bounced the Oilers out playoff contention in a 3-2 contest at Rogers Place — was a victim of its own success.
By the time the contest closed, the total jackpot hit an eye-popping $15.2 million, but the website handling ticket sales buckled under the volume.
Oilers Entertainment Group, which owns the team, said its online servers were overwhelmed during the contest, with demand for tickets at times exceeding $100,000 per minute.
The site glitched repeatedly and entrants attempting to purchase tickets were met with various error codes.
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Some entrants in the contest were charged for more tickets than they intended to purchase, racking up repeated credit card charges for subsequent attempts to place orders online.
The Oilers foundation said the integrity of the draw is still intact and overcharged entrants will be reimbursed.
"Given the systems challenges with our service provider, we are going to offer you the chance to void any ticket purchases over the coming days," reads the email that ticket buyers will receive on Monday.
"Your money for any void tickets will then be returned into your bank account shortly thereafter. Once all the requests for void tickets are entered, we will draw the lucky winner."
Ticket holders can choose to keep all their tickets in the draw. This is the default and requires no further action
Fans who want to cancel their tickets — either because they received multiple email confirmations and charges or for any other reason — would forward the email confirmation for any tickets that they wish to have cancelled.
The Oilers are also accommodating requests from people who either need another copy of their ticket confirmation or believe they did not receive a confirmation but were charged.
Full instructions are contained in the email being sent to all ticket holders.