site.btaLottery Operator CEO Dismissed after Faulty Draw

Youth and Sports Minister Ivan Peshev dismissed Georgi Tarlekov as Executive Director and Management Board member at the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator (popularly known as the Toto), a state-owned company which operates lottery games and sport betting, Peshev’s ministry reported on Monday.

The move came after Sunday’s draw in the Totalizator’s game "Second Lotto Chance - 5 out of 35" was compromised as the last number drawn from the winning combination turned out to be 41. There are not supposed to be numbers bigger than 35 in the “5 out of 35” format. Earlier on Monday, the minister ordered an investigation into the Totalizator’s work and said he would dismiss “the entire management and those responsible for this situation.”

The Executive Director is in charge of designating the commission overseeing a draw. In earlier years, commissions were staffed by representatives of the Totalizator and the National Revenue Agency (NRA). More recently, they have only been comprised of Totalizator representatives, which arguably makes for non-transparency during the draws.

Competent institutions were alerted to the case. Interior Ministry teams are already conducting a check, looking for evidence of offence. NRA and the Public Financial Inspection Agency will also probe the Totalizator by order of Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova within their respective fields of competence.

Since the draw error occurred, Youth and Sports Minister Ivan Peshev has been in constant contact with Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov.

Peshev asked the Totalizator to write a report to clarify the circumstances surrounding the faulty draw. An internal check is underway in the company, with explanations being taken from all employees who were involved in the draw. A working group of the Youth and Sports Ministry is also looking into the case.

According to information from the Totalizator, the operator of the machine used in the compromised draw has bid to resign.

The measures taken by the Youth and Sports Ministry are in line with its duty to ensure fair play during games of luck, to protect the interests of the participants and to preserve public trust in the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator, the press release said.