When does the draw happen?
How draw timing works, and why it's an approximate time.
Every raffle has a draw date and time, shown on the raffle page. That's when the organiser plans to draw the winner — but it's best thought of as a guide, not a stopwatch.
Shown in your time zone too
RaffleLink lists the draw time in the raffle's own time zone, with your local time in brackets — for example, 6:00 PM AEST (6:00 PM AWST your time) — so you don't have to work out the difference yourself. (Any emails you get use Australian Eastern time.)
Why it's approximate
The draw time is there so you know roughly when to expect a result. Most organisers run the draw themselves once they're ready, so it may happen right on time or a little after — that's normal and nothing to worry about. Some schedule it to run automatically at the listed time instead. Either way, the winners are picked the same way.
Organisers do this deliberately so they can make sure everything's in order before drawing. So if the listed time passes and you haven't heard, give it a little while.
Where to check
- The raffle page — once the draw's done and the organiser publishes the result, the winners appear there.
- Your email — you may get a note when the raffle's drawn, and you'll definitely hear if you've won.
"Closing" vs "drawing"
Two different moments:
- Closing is when ticket sales end — no more tickets can be bought.
- Drawing is when the winner is picked, which happens after closing.
So a raffle can be closed (sales over) but not yet drawn (winner still to come). If you see a raffle is closed, the draw is the next step — keep an eye on your email and the raffle page.