Lotto numbers appear twice

THE draw of the same six winning numbers twice in a row in Bulgaria’s national lottery was a freak coincidence, officials said yesterday.

Sports Minister Svilen Neikov ordered an investigation after the numbers 4, 15, 23, 24, 35 and 42 were selected, in a different order, by a machine live on television on September 6 and 10. The results caused suspicions of manipulation.

An investigation found no wrongdoing in the draw or determining the winners, its chairman Konstantin Simeonov said.