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Redraws in a Live Draw

Why a live TrueNorth draw sometimes lands on an unsold or already won ticket, what Redraw does, and how to keep your live draw moving smoothly.

During a live TrueNorth draw, the screen will sometimes tell you a ticket cannot be used (because it was not sold or has already won) and offer you a single Redraw button. This is completely normal. Click Redraw and RaffleX simply draws another number. Nothing has gone wrong, and nothing is recorded until you confirm a winner.

The short version:

  • A live draw picks a number across the competition's full ticket range, not only the tickets that sold. That is part of what makes it provably fair.

  • If the number that comes up was never bought, or already won an earlier prize in the same draw, you cannot confirm it. You Redraw.

  • A Redraw you are forced to do is different from a Discard & redraw, which is your own free choice on a perfectly valid ticket.

The rest of this page explains each situation so you always know what to click.

Why a Live Draw Can Land on an Unsold Number

When you run a live draw, each result is drawn across the competition's entire ticket number range, not just the numbers that happened to sell. This is deliberate. Giving every possible number a genuine chance is part of what makes a TrueNorth draw verifiable and fair.

Because of this, a draw can occasionally land on a number that nobody bought. That is expected behaviour, not a fault. When it happens, RaffleX shows you clearly what has occurred and asks you to redraw.

Landing on an unsold number does not mean your draw is broken or that something is wrong with your competition. It is simply the fair process at work. Just click Redraw and carry on.

The Three Things That Can Happen to a Drawn Number

Each time RaffleX draws a number, the result will be one of three things.

1. Ticket sold (a valid winner)

The screen shows the ticket holder's name and Ticket sold. This is a real, usable result, and you have two choices:

  • Confirm. Click Confirm & draw next (or Confirm final winner if it is the last one) to save the winner.

  • Discard & redraw. If you would simply prefer a different result, you can discard this valid ticket and draw again. This is entirely your choice. Nothing is saved when you discard.

2. Ticket not sold

The number that came up was never bought. The screen shows Ticket not sold with Redraw required, and your only button is Redraw. You cannot confirm an unsold ticket, so click Redraw to draw another number.

3. Already won

In a draw for more than one winner, a number can come up that already won an earlier prize in the same draw. RaffleX recognises this, shows the holder's name with Already won · redraw required, and again offers only Redraw. This is what stops the same person winning twice from a single draw.

Discard & Redraw vs Redraw: the Key Difference

These two buttons look similar but mean different things, so it helps to know which is which.

What you see
What it means
What you can do

Ticket sold

A valid winner

Confirm, or Discard & redraw by choice

Ticket not sold

The number was never bought

Redraw only

Already won

This person already won earlier in the same draw

Redraw only

In short, Discard & redraw is your own free choice on a good ticket, while a forced Redraw appears only when the ticket genuinely cannot be used. In both cases, nothing is recorded until you press Confirm.

When a redraw happens, RaffleX shows a small banner with a running count of how many redraws have taken place, so you and your audience can see exactly what happened. Each redraw is part of the verifiable record of the draw.

Confirming Is Final

The moment you confirm a winner, RaffleX saves it against the competition and sends that winner their winner email straight away. There is no undo on a confirmed winner from this screen, so only confirm when you are happy for the result to stand.

If you want a different ticket, use Discard & redraw (on a valid ticket) before you confirm. Once you confirm, the result is locked in.

Confirm a winner only when you are sure. As soon as you confirm, the winner is recorded and notified automatically. Use the redraw or discard options first if you have any doubt.

Multi Winner Draws and Picking Up Where You Left Off

For a draw with more than one winner, RaffleX moves straight to the next draw after each confirm and keeps a running list of the winners you have already locked in.

If the draw is interrupted partway through (for example TrueNorth briefly cannot be reached, or you simply close the window) any winners you have already confirmed stay saved. When you reopen Draw Winners on that competition, RaffleX notices the draw is still in progress and lets you carry on from where you left off, rather than starting over or losing earlier winners.

The draw is only treated as fully complete once every required winner has been confirmed, at which point it is finalised and locked.

You will never lose confirmed winners to a dropped connection or a closed tab. Reopen the draw and continue. The winners you locked in are safe.

Why You Cannot Always Start a Draw

Before a live draw can even begin, RaffleX checks there are enough usable tickets left to finish it. If the number of sold tickets that have not already won is smaller than the number of winners still needed, the draw will not start, and RaffleX tells you how many eligible tickets remain.

This protects you from getting stuck partway through a draw you could never complete. If you hit this, you have the same options as any under-sold competition: lower the number of winners, or draw what you can manually.

Auto Draw When Not Sold Out

Related Guides

TrueNorth Live Stream DrawsManual Draw

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