The New Year’s Billion drawing was conducted under the supervision of the circulation commission and a team of experts from FACCT, a Russian developer specializing in anti-cybercrime technologies. The process was designed to ensure transparency and compliance with all legal standards governing lottery administration in Russia.
During the event, a member of the drawing committee personally examined the draw apparatus, including the bag and every barrel used in the drawing. The official stated that no external factors influenced the outcome and that the winning combination was generated by a random process. He emphasized that any winner on that day deserved their fortune as a result of pure chance.
Commission members verified the condition and integrity of the draw equipment, confirming the absence of any temperature irregularities or mechanical issues that could affect results. This step was taken to provide confidence that the drawing was fair and free from manipulation.
Speaking about the event, a senior member of the commission and head of distribution noted that the New Year’s draw of the legendary Russian Lotto was determined by chance. He affirmed that neither he nor his colleagues harbored any doubts about the fairness of the New Year’s Billion draw, underscoring the commitment to an impartial process.
Following the draw, all commission members confirmed that no violations occurred and that the winning combination had been generated randomly. The committee documented its findings and the formal decision to validate the 1526th holiday draw of the Russian Lottery in its official minutes, reinforcing the traceability of the procedure and the legitimacy of the result.
The involvement of FACCT experts added another layer of verification. Their role was to ensure that only tickets that had been sold and registered with valid game combinations were included in the draw. They employed additional verification methods to confirm the integrity of the ticket database and its records before and after the draw.
According to an FACCT forensic computer laboratory expert, the primary task was to verify that every sold ticket with a registered game combination remained part of the draw. The experts analyzed hash sums for the ticket database breakdowns before and after circulation and concluded that the data in the database remained consistent throughout the process, attesting to the reliability of the system used for the event.
The New Year’s drawing took place on January 1, 2024, with the grand prize of 1 billion rubles being awarded in the 1526th draw. The winning ticket was purchased at a Stoloto store located in Tyumen. In total, the results of the New Year’s Billion drew 9,208,638 winning tickets and recorded withdrawals totaling 2,779,715,190 rubles for the holiday period.
Since 2014, Russia’s lotteries have been state-owned and operated under the oversight of the Russian Federal Tax Service, which continues to supervise the integrity and transparency of lottery activities to protect participants and uphold public trust.