The whole management of the Bulgarian Sports Totalisator (BST) is being laid off after a blunder during a live telecast.
Over the weekend, the state-owned lottery operator broadcast one of its live games where a set of numbers are randomly drawn to form a set-of-five that if matched with a player’s ticket, grants substantial prizes.
The game was 5/35, meaning that the five numbers drawn could be any number all the way up to 35. However, one of the drawn balls during the live broadcast showed the number 41. The blunder was then heavily criticised by various political figures, raising the suspicions among the public about a potential manipulation.
BST, or SportToto, is a Bulgarian national gambling operator – member of both the World Lottery Association (WLA) and the European Lotteries (EL), adhering to the European Responsible Gaming Standards.
Proceeds from the operator and range of games, which include lottery and sports betting – fund a number of social, cultural, educational and sports initiatives across Bulgaria. BST is under the direct control of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
In a statement issued today, Bulgarian Minister of Youth Ivan Peshev severely criticised the mishap, ordering a detailed internal review led by a number of government bodies, including the NRA – Bulgaria’s gambling regulator.
“The situation where thousands of players were misled by the incorrectly drawn number is strongly disappointing and puts under question the work of the BST leadership,” the Ministry’s statement said.
“The failure, which led to the last drawn number of the winning combination being 41, is unacceptable and causes a disruption in the trust citizens place with the system of sports games.”
In the post on the Ministry’s Facebook profile, it was revealed that the failure will lead to serious reshuffles at the top of the BST.
“Measures are also being taken for a comprehensive investigation into the work of the Bulgarian Sports Totalisator. The entire management and responsible persons who allowed this situation to occur will be relieved of their positions.”
BST has also provided a statement to the media, saying: “Due to the loading of a different set of balls into the gaming equipment during the 5/35 draw, a second draw was conducted within the live broadcast.
“The team behind BST offers its apologies towards players with the fact in mind that the conducting and broadcasting of such live programming is in no way protected from these situations.”
Lottery Daily has reached out to the Bulgarian regulator and European Lotteries for a comment.