Ticket Request for Level Advancement Not Going Through

I have been sending over ten ticket requests over and over to the same people. Sometimes they get them but then when they send it, I never get them. I have been sitting beside these people when they send them. So I know they are sent. I think it's a game where they want you to pay to get tickets. Seems like a scam to me.

I play on two devices: my phone with my FB account, and my BF's iPad with his FB account. When I have to send out requests to get to the next level I notice that it takes 6-30 hours before the ticket I send myself actually goes through. I am assuming it's a crappy way for the creators to steal money from people who are too addicted to wait. Or as I've read, those people get it worse than me, and the accepted requests just never come through.