Massive response to Edmonton Oilers online 50/50 raffle leads to website issues

The Edmonton Oilers’ online 50/50 raffle saw a slight hitch in its initial launch on Saturday, after massive surges in ticket sales lead to server issues.

The team has made the move to sell 50/50 tickets online for during the rest of the 2020 season as games return to Rogers Place but fans will not.

Saturday marks the first of  the new online raffle as the Oilers play their first game back against the Chicago Blackhawks.

However, on Saturday morning after ticket sales opened up at 9 a.m., fans on social media said there were some issues with getting through.

Tim Shipton, senior vice-president for Katz Group/Oilers Entertainment Group, said Saturday that there were some delays in processing tickets due to the volume of orders.

Shipton said, and anyone who has a charge showing up on their credit card from an order that did not go through is a pre-authorized charge only and it will be removed within 48 hours.

Tickets were expected to be sold online until 10:30 p.m. MT. However shortly before 7:00 p.m., the Oilers Foundation tweeted that it was ceasing sales because the server was unable to handle the volume.

The final estimated pot was over $760,000.

The winner takes home half the total, while the remainder goes to support the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.

The previous record jackpot in history for the team was a take-home of $336,995 on April 12, 2017, at the first-ever playoff game for the team at Rogers Place.

The average 50/50 jackpot at the Oilers games through the 2019-20 season was a take-home of $87,688.

The winner will be announced online by 11:30 p.m. on Oilers game days. Going forward, the 50/50 draws will run along with the games, opening at 9 a.m. game days and closing at 10:30 p.m.