Serbian Shock after winning lottery number is shown before being drawn

The Serbian state lottery faces suspicions of corruption and fraud following a live broadcast of its draw which showed the winning ball number on screen before it had been drawn the lottery container.

Serbian TV viewers cried foul on Tuesday evening’s broadcast of the Serbian National Lottery as the winning 21 ball appeared on the screen before it had been drawn. The draw has been at the front of national headlines, as Serbian news sources speculate whether the lottery incident was a coincidence or corruption.

The incident has led to the resignation of the Head of Serbia National lottery. Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic, told a news conference: “If there was any criminal activity these people will answer to the law. The path to prison is very short.”

State Lottery of Serbia the operator of the lottery said the draw would stand, blaming a technical error caused by the person who filled out the television graphic. One lottery executive said it was “pure coincidence” that the graphic would mistakenly call the No 21 ball, only for it then to emerge as the next number.

Aleksandar Vulovic, the Director of the National Lottery, publicly stated  that the error occurred in the graphic did not affect the validity of the draw.“The extraction procedure was absolutely regular… it is impossible to influence the outcome of the draw

The incident has forced the Serbian federal police to investigate Tuesday’s draw, the police are said to be speaking to senior lottery officials and broadcaster RTS 1 with regards to the lottery show’s programming.