Big Ticket

Big Ticket is a lottery raffle that happens to operate out of the Abu Dhabi International Airport. Based on the list of winners on the official website, Big Ticket has been drawing winners since February 2015.

There are various cash draws available during each raffle, though the jackpot prize is usually between AED 10 million and 20 million. Cars can also be won in the Big Ticket raffle, although tickets are purchased separately for these draws.

The prize draws take place on the 3rd of every month at 19:30 Gulf Standard Time at the Abu Dhabi airport.

How to play Big Ticket

Big Ticket is not your classic lottery. Since this is a raffle, you purchase a raffle ticket with a number on it that you don’t get to pick. Raffle tickets can either be purchased online on the Big Ticket website, or in one of the official retailers in the UAE. There are several options at the Abu Dhabi airport itself.

You can purchase Big Ticket raffle tickets for the series where the cash prizes are won, or you buy tickets for the car raffles. You can do both, of course. But you can’t win a car on a Big Ticket raffle ticket and vice versa.

If you want to purchase a Big Ticket raffle ticket online, you first have to open an account on the official website. Only residents of the UAE will be able to do so. Even for online purchases you are required to provide valid ID (usually a passport), which will be checked in case you win.

Anyone will be able to purchase a ticket through one of the retail stores, even customers just passing through the airport. They will also have to provide a valid passport for identification.

We’ll explain below what happens if you win.

Big Ticket Prizes

The main prize is obviously the Big Ticket series prize, which is usually an amount between AED 10 million and 20 million. The average tends to be AED 12 million.

Depending on the specific series played, there are usually between 4 and 10 cash prizes in total, all paid out in AED. The lowest cash prize we’ve seen seems to be AED 10,000.

There are also Dream Car raffles that are sold on separate tickets. During each prize draw, usually only one car is given away. Most often these cars are BMWs, Jeep Cherokees or Land Rovers.

Interestingly, a majority of Big Ticket cash prizes have been won by Indian players (most of whom appear to reside in the UAE, however).

How to claim your prize

It’s possible to claim your prize online if you are unable to claim it in person. However, checks to ensure that you are who you claim to be and indeed the winner of the prize, are rigorous.

Winners need the following to claim their prize online (usually because you live outside the UAE):

  • Copy of passport, verified by a UAE embassy
  • Bank address, account number, SWIFT or sort code and a letter from the bank confirming you are the account holder
  • A signed letter by you to the operator (the DFS) that you wish to have your win transferred to your bank account
  • The original ticket as purchased in store or a print-out of the email if purchased online
  • Contact information

If you wish to collect your prize in person, you can do so at the Etihad Catering Office at Abu Dhabi airport. Again, you need your valid ID and your ticket.

Should you win a Dream Car, you will need to arrange transport (or even export) of it yourself. These cars cannot be exchanged for the cash value.

Where to play Big Ticket

Big Ticket is open to anyone passing through Abu Dhabi airport. Online, you’ll only be able to join the raffle via the official website and a registered account there. You can only register an account there if you live in Abu Dhabi.

Everyone else usually purchases raffle tickets at the store at the airport or elsewhere in Abu Dhabi.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to play Big Ticket at international lottery sites.