‘Russian road roulette’ triggers concerns in Bulgaria

There are reports of a new gambling game in Bulgaria that has drivers and pedestrians proceeding with extreme caution through city intersections.

A police investigation into what has been dubbed by local media as ‘Russian road roulette’ is underway on the city streets with the hopes of cracking down on this dangerous craze. Prosecutors claim participants are purposely swerving through red-light intersections trying to avoid right-of-way pedestrians and vehicles for bets. SkyNews is reporting the rules of the game are quite simple but very dengerous. “The driver must not touch their brakes, crash into cars or pedestrians nor leave the road." Onlookers will stake out at the site of event and await the results. Dependent upon the outcome, Reuters is reporting drivers can get up to $7400 per intersections. Participants in the gambling game will supposedly use text messaging as a way of promoting the intersection where the event will take place. Bulgarian Police say this is making it hard to track the venues but say they are doing everything they can to stop the races. "Every time we receive a tip off for such an unregulated race, we send patrols,” said Police commissioner Vanio Stoevsk. So far, local Bulgarian media is reporting two deaths as an alleged result of ‘Russian road roulette.’