Lottery authorities in Ireland have been accused of fixing the most recent Lotto draw, after eagle-eyed viewers spotted what appeared to be a ball with two numbers on it.
The second ball drawn in Saturday night's £4.5 million draw was officially number 38, but on TV it looked like it had both 38 and 33 written on it.
"Fixed Irish lotto, look at 33 & 38 on the same ball??" Lotto viewer David Connolly wrote on Twitter, with a screenshot showing the mystery 33/38 ball as well as the real 33 ball, which hadn't been drawn.
"33 or 38?Pay out on both!" one hopeful punter demanded.
Irish National Lottery spokesman Fran Whearty said there was no cheating - viewers had been fooled by a trick of the light.
"A brief reflection of light during filming caused an illusion and some players to think there were two numbers on ball 38," he told the Irish Mirror.
"This was not the case. The weight and size of all Lotto balls, and the numbers, are strictly checked in advance of each draw.
"This process, as well as the draw itself, is independently observed by our auditors KPMG."
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Video of the draw shows the ball is clearly number 38, with the 33 only appearing when it settles next to ball number 1.
Newshub.
