Lottery Scandal in Bulgaria: ‘5 out of 35’ Draw Spits Out Number 41

On Sunday, March 23, Bulgaria’s state-run ‘Second Lotto Chance — 5 out of 35’ draw, operated by the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator (BST), took an unprecedented turn, Novinite.com reports. A stunning mistake during the televised draw has triggered the dismissal of BST’s management team and a full-scale investigation into the operator’s practices.

As the game’s name suggests, the draw runs with 35 numbered balls. But this time, the machine inexplicably spit out a 41 — a number that shouldn’t even exist in the lineup.

The blunder left host Deyan Slavchev visibly stunned on live TV. The moment quickly went viral on social media, sparking outrage among viewers and players alike.

BST scrambled to fix the situation by running a new draw. The initial combination — 31, 35, 29, 28, and the impossible 41, plus bonus numbers 3 and 1 — was scrapped. The corrected winning numbers were announced as 2, 8, 14, 22, 29, with 1 and 1 as bonuses. BST blamed the incident on a mix-up: the machine had been loaded with balls from a different game. The operator issued a formal apology to bettors.

Still, the apology wasn’t enough to calm government officials. Sports Minister Ivan Peshev ordered an immediate probe, calling the botched draw a serious hit to public trust in the country’s lottery system. The investigation will involve the National Revenue Agency, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Interior, the Financial and Economic Audit Office, and the State Agency for Meteorological and Technical Supervision. BST’s leadership team and all staff directly involved in the error will be terminated.