The winning 50/50 number from the Aug. 7 Edmonton Oilers draw was supposed to finally be picked on Wednesday, after being delayed for more than two weeks.
However, at about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, more than one hour after the draw was scheduled to take place, the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation said it would have to be delayed again.
“Due to delays in processing final refunds for the Aug. 7 Oilers online 50/50 raffle, we are postponing the draw for the winning ticket to ensure customers who followed the requisite refund process can ensure their tickets have been voided and refunds initiated,” the organization said in a message on Twitter.
“Our tech provider Ascend has assured us this work will be done in short order and we will be able to draw soon.
“We again apologize for the inconvenience this delay has caused. We are disappointed, but the integrity of the draw and consumer protection has always been our top priority.”
The Oilers group also promised to provide a more concrete timeline for the draw Thursday morning.
Once a winner is drawn, they will have exactly three business days to present the winning ticket by contacting the 50/50 office at 5050@edmontonoilers.com and forwarding their purchase confirmation e-mail and a copy of their government-issued photo identification and address.
According to an update on the club’s website last week, staff have spent the last few weeks auditing and finalizing the refund and confirmation lists in an effort to make sure the final list of participants is accurate.
“Although it has been a very time-consuming process, it was very important that we do this to ensure the integrity of the raffle,” Natalie Minkler, executive director of Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation, said on Friday.
Issues with the draw caused some fans to end up with multiple purchases. A number of fans told Global News they ended up with tickets even though the site crashed before a confirmation screen appeared.
READ MORE: Winning ticket for Edmonton Oilers 50/50 delayed another week as team processes refunds
On Aug. 10, the Oilers announced it would be offering refunds.
“After refunds are processed and dollars are deposited back into the accounts of those customers who asked for refunds, we will be in a position to draw the winning number, which we expect will happen early to mid-next week,” the club said Friday.
The Aug. 7 draw closed with a jackpot of more than $15 million. After refunds, the club said it expects the raffle to be around $14.3 million. The winner will take home half of the pot while the other half will go to the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.
The record-breaking jackpot is about 700 per cent bigger than the largest sports raffle in 2019.
With files from Karen Bartko, Global News