Big Ticket Abu Dhabi, UAE: Your ultimate guide to participating (2024)

Becoming an overnight millionaire or owning a luxury vehicle is not so far fetched with the Big Ticket Abu Dhabi raffle draw.

Big Ticket Abu Dhabi raffle has been changing the lives of many people over the past few years by turning dreams into reality. If you have not heard about this monthly raffle draw for cash prizes and luxury cars, you could be missing out on your opportunity of winning big.

With so many questions surrounding Big Ticket raffle, here's what you should know about the UAE's most popular raffle draw:

What is Big Ticket?

Big Ticket is a monthly raffle draw for cash prizes and luxury cars in Abu Dhabi. Big Ticket started in 1992 with a monthly draw of Dh1 million cash prize. It is now offering its highest prize yet of Dh20 million cash. There is also a draw for dream cars such as Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, Corvette, Ford Mustang and Mini-Cooper. For the January draw date, the cars on offer are a BMW and a Land Rover.

Why UAE residents form groups to join the lottery?

The live draw is usually held at the arrival lobby of Terminal 1 at the Abu Dhabi International Airport every first week of the month. The raffle is conducted by Richard, an Englishman who arrived in Dubai in 1999. Richard started his career in the UAE as a store manager at a department store chain. In 2005, Richard joined Abu Dhabi Duty Free as a retail manager and has been conducting the Big Ticket raffle since 2006. In a recent interview with Khaleej Times, Richard stated that even after 12 years, he still gets nervous on the day of the raffle.

The live draw is approximately two-hours-long and a total of 10 raffle tickets are selected, beginning with the smaller prizes of Dh10,000 leading up to the grand prize.

For each draw, Richard spins the raffle barrel and randomly selects a few tickets. Then he asks one of the audience members to pick the winning ticket. He proceeds to open the ticket and declares the winner. Once the winner is declared, the details are uploaded on the Big Ticket's official website in real time.

How to view?

You may either visit the Abu Dhabi airport, or visit the Big Ticket Abu Dhabi official Facebook page to watch a live stream.

Where can I purchase a Big Ticket raffle?

Tickets can be purchased online or at the following locations, which are open 24x7:

How much does one raffle ticket cost?

Big Ticket offers a cash prize raffle draw as well as Dream Car tickets. Tickets for the cash prize are Dh500 each. If you buy two tickets, you get one free (this will be loaded automatically in the system when purchasing online).

Note that the free ticket is only available to those who purchase two tickets in a single transaction. Single-ticket purchases in two different transactions will not be granted the free ticket.

The dream car tickets are sold for Dh150 each.

The promotion runs from the first day of the month until 11.59 pm on the last day of the month.

Big Ticket will only offer a refund should there be a technical issue upon a web purchase before the draw date. Refund requests that take place after the draw will not be entertained.

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Can you buy a raffle ticket from outside the UAE?

Yes, you can join the draw and purchase a ticket from the Big Ticket website www.bigticket.ae.

Big Ticket raffle draws are open to many nationalities including those living outside the UAE. For participants living outside of the UAE, Big Ticket encourages participants to be mindful of their local laws and regulations before entering any of the raffles.

The grand prize winner should visit the Big Ticket office to claim the cheque preferably during the grand draw of the next raffle, which takes place during the first week of every month. It is a custom for the winner of the previous draw to select the winning ticket for the next bumper prize once Richard selects tickets from the drum.

How do I purchase the ticket from Dubai or Sharjah?

As there are no outlets or Big Ticket counters in Dubai and Sharjah, you may purchase tickets online at www.bigticket.ae or by visiting their centres in Abu Dhabi.

Play a game

There is also a social media game that takes place every month called #BigTicketSelfie/ #BigTicketLove, where participants stand a chance to win a free ticket that is valid for the draw of the current month.

To participate in the draw, you are required to take a selfie or video in a live draw and post it on social media with the hashtag #BigTicketSelfie and tag the Big Ticket social media account @BigTicketauh to qualify for the draw. #BigTicketSelfie/#BigTicketLove game mechanics and requirements change every month so keep an eye out for announcements on the Big Ticket social media platforms.

Step by step guide on how to purchase the ticket online:

If you are unable to purchase a raffle ticket at the locations mentioned above, you can follow the simple online process listed below:

Step 1. Enter www.bigticket.ae into your web browser.

Step 2. You will be given an option to sign in or register an account.

New users need to create an account. If you have created an account and haven't used it for a while, you are given an option to reset your password and proceed to enter.

Step 3. Once your profile is authenticated via mobile number and email, your account will be created, and you can log in to proceed with entering into the draw. January options include the following: The Big Ticket Raffle, which is now Dh20 million for January; Dream Car Land Rover; Dream Car BMW.

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Step 4. Once your preferred raffle prize is selected you have a choice of selecting your raffle number, and the site also gives you an option of filtering out raffle numbers that are odd, even, by date of birth or previous winners' tickets.

Keep in mind that there is a maximum of 10 tickets per transaction.

Step 5. Once you have selected your raffle number, you will proceed to a checkout option which will confirm your ticket information. Ticket information consists of your residential address and contact information. You may update this accordingly should there be any changes.

Step 6. Once you agree to the terms and conditions, you will be redirected to an online payment gateway which gives you the option of using the following cards: American Express, Mastercard or Visa.

You will receive an email confirmation once your payment is complete. The email will include your e-ticket. You may also view your e-ticket in your order history online when logging into your Big Ticket account.

When is the next draw?

The Big Ticket draw date is usually done in the first few days of the month. The last date to purchase the ticket is on the 30th or 31st every month, with a cut off time at 11.59pm for store purchases, and 11.45pm for purchases made through the Big Ticket website.

The Big Ticket draw for cash prizes takes place in the first week of the following month. The draw is conducted monthly, no matter how many tickets are sold. However, the Dream Car draws operate on a quota of tickets being sold before the winning ticket is selected from the barrel.

Additionally, there are regular prize draws offered throughout the year.

Who are the previous Big Ticket and raffle winners?

Anabelle Manalastas, a Filipina nurse who has been living in Abu Dhabi for over eight years, won the cash prize of Dh12 million. The draw took place on December 3. Anabelle is sharing her prize money with a group of friends. Her share of the prize money is about Dh2 million.

Pakistani expat wins Dh20 million in Big Ticket Abu Dhabi raffle

Mohammad Fayaz, a 24-year-old Indian accountant, became a multi-millionaire overnight with his massive Big Ticket Dh12 million win in October 2019.

Another Indian, 28-year-old Sreenu Sreedharan Nair, won Dh15 million in November 2019. Sreenu shared the ticket with 21 colleagues in his company.

Now that you have a know-how guide on the Big Ticket, will you be participating?

• Abu Dhabi