Thousands were told they won the lottery. It was a mistake
Norsk Tipping apologized after an error showed players winnings that were off by a factor of 10,000
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Thousands of lottery players in Norway spent part of last week believing they had hit the jackpot, thanks to a conversion error that briefly turned modest wins into millionaire-level windfalls.
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Norsk Tipping, Norway’s state-owned gambling company, announced Friday that a technical mishap had caused players in the Eurojackpot to receive prize notifications that were off by a factor of 10,000. The company, which receives Eurojackpot results from Germany in euros, mistakenly multiplied prize amounts by 100 during the conversion to Norwegian kroner instead of dividing by 100.
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The result? Players logging in to check their winnings were met with life-changing sums that, unfortunately, weren’t real. No incorrect payouts were issued, but the emotional fallout was swift.
The error prompted CEO Tonje Sagstuen to step down just a day after the mistake was disclosed. Sagstuen had been with Norsk Tipping since 2014 and was named CEO in September 2023. She announced her resignation Saturday, citing the breach of public trust as her responsibility.
“Here, things have failed in several places,” Sagstuen said in a translated statement, adding that she was “sad” to leave but confident in the improvement processes underway. She will receive six months of severance pay per her contract, which equates to roughly $185,000 USD.
Norway’s Ministry of Culture and Equality, which oversees Norsk Tipping, held an emergency meeting with the company’s board over the weekend. Minister Lubna Jaffery said such errors are unacceptable, particularly given Norsk Tipping’s exclusive license to operate gaming services in the country.
This is not the first technical failure for Norsk Tipping. The company admitted it has experienced multiple serious errors in recent months, along with broader technical issues throughout the past year. As of Saturday evening, prize amounts were corrected, but the reputational damage for the monopoly operator may prove longer-lasting than the fleeting millionaire dreams it inadvertently sparked.