Norway lottery error misled thousands of Eurojackpot winners
Norway’s state-owned lottery operator, Norsk Tipping, has issued a formal apology to customers after publishing incorrect Eurojackpot prize amounts: due to a conversion error from euro cents to Norwegian kroner, thousands of players were mistakenly told they had won significantly more than they actually had.
“Friday evening, thousands of Norwegians were incorrectly informed that they had won a large sum in the Eurojackpot,” said Vegar Strand, newly appointed acting CEO of Norsk Tipping. “This was a mistake that affected many and which we take extremely seriously. We deeply regret what has happened and, on behalf of all of us at Norsk Tipping, I want to say sorry to everyone affected. We are truly sorry to have disappointed so many.”
The error, caused by a miscalculation in the conversion system, was identified and corrected within hours, but not before customers began celebrating non-existent windfalls.
“I understand that people are angry”
Tonje Sagstuen, who was CEO at the time of the incident and has since resigned, said on Saturday: “I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many and fully understand that people are angry with us. I’ve received many messages from people who had already made plans for holidays, apartment purchases or home renovations before realising the amount was wrong. To them, I can only say: I’m sorry. But I understand that’s small comfort.”
No incorrect payouts were made, and the company has confirmed that the correct prize amounts were published and processed by early Saturday morning. The majority of payments were completed by 04:30 that day.
Norway’s state-owned lottery operator began a manual review of its system on Saturday to rule out any additional errors following the Eurojackpot blunder. “This was a failure in the code that converts euro cents into kroner in our system,” Sagstuen explained. “The error was discovered too late, so several thousand players received false notifications.”
Strong criticism from authorities
Norsk Tipping is facing mounting criticism over the incident, including from individual customers, the Norwegian Lottery Authority, and the Minister of Culture.
“This kind of mistake is serious for a company that manages the public’s trust,” said Strand. “We have let our customers down badly, and we take full responsibility for cleaning this up. We are now working intensively to ensure this type of error does not happen again.”
On Saturday, Sagstuen and company chair Sylvia Brustad met with leadership from the Ministry of Culture and Equality to explain what had happened.
“Our owner (the Norwegian state) is understandably both concerned and critical of the situation,” Sagstuen said. “We completely understand that. We are determined to improve, and we’ve already begun that process. Norsk Tipping has enjoyed Norwegians’ trust for over 75 years. That trust has now been damaged, and it is up to us to rebuild it.”
Norsk Tippinp leadership change amid fallout
The incident follows a series of operational issues at Norsk Tipping in recent months. On Saturday evening, Sagstuen stepped down as CEO. Vegar Strand, previously Director of Strategy, Analysis and Business Development, has been named acting CEO.
“The work to restore trust is now our highest priority,” Strand said. “This mistake has hit at the core of what Norsk Tipping stands for. We are completely dependent on public confidence to fulfil our social mission.”
The company has launched a comprehensive review of its systems to prevent similar mistakes.
