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A live broadcast of Hong Kong's Mark Six lottery was interrupted by a rare mechanical failure on Saturday evening after the primary machine failed to draw any numbered balls, prompting organizers to switch to an identical backup unit under the watch of official scrutineers.
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The glitch occurred during the 99th draw of the year, scheduled for 9.30pm, which carried an estimated jackpot of HK$8 million.
Drawing halted as balls fail to drop
The malfunction took place moments after the television hosts signaled the official start of the draw. As the 49 numbered balls spun continuously inside the transparent tumbler, none dropped into the central chute to yield the first winning number.
The live feed showed the spinning chamber idling for nearly twenty seconds before the extraction tube retracted empty. With the draw unable to proceed, the presenter announced on air that contingency procedures would be enacted immediately.
Production crew members subsequently brought out a backup drawing machine along with a reserve set of 49 balls.
The balls were placed manually into the replacement chamber in full view of the cameras, following which two supervising guest scrutineers inspected and verified the setup.
The draw was then restarted, eventually concluding with no ticket holder securing the HK$8 million top prize.
Jockey Club confirms contingency protocol and outcome integrity
Responding to media inquiries following the broadcast, the Hong Kong Jockey Club confirmed the incident, stating that staff had acted strictly in accordance with pre-established emergency protocols.
The Club noted that both the primary and backup machines had completed routine operational testing ahead of the broadcast, with all equipment functioning properly at that time.
However, once the live draw began, the primary unit experienced an unexpected failure in capturing the first ball, necessitating an immediate switch to the reserve equipment and secondary ball set.
According to the Club, the transition process took approximately five minutes and remained under continuous oversight by the two guest witnesses to safeguard transparency and fairness.
Officials emphasized that because the backup machine was an identical model possessing the exact same operational specifications, the mechanical interruption had no bearing whatsoever on the validity or integrity of the final draw results.
