Thousands of lottery players in Norway were mistakenly informed last week that they had won significantly more money than they actually did in the country’s Eurojackpot draw, according to a statement from Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gambling operator.
The company said that “several thousand customers were notified of incorrectly high prizes” due to a technical error in converting Eurojackpot winnings from euros to Norwegian kroner. Instead of dividing the euro amounts by 100 — the correct conversion procedure — a manual coding error resulted in the figures being multiplied by 100.
The inflated prize amounts were visible on Norsk Tipping’s website and mobile app on Friday, but were later removed. While the incorrect winnings sparked confusion and premature celebrations, Norsk Tipping confirmed that no customers received the incorrect payouts.
Some players began making plans based on the mistakenly inflated winnings, including holidays, home renovations, and large purchases. “It was a very fun minute,” said one player, Lise Naustdal, who believed she had won nearly 1.9 million kroner (approximately £138,000) before discovering the truth.
The incident has drawn criticism from customers, government officials, and regulators. The Norwegian Ministry of Culture held an emergency meeting with Norsk Tipping on Saturday to address the situation. Ministerial officials described the matter as serious and called for a thorough investigation.
Amid mounting pressure, CEO Tonje Sagstuen announced her resignation on Sunday. Sagstuen, who had led the company since September 2023 and worked at Norsk Tipping since 2014, said in a statement:
“As a manager, it has been my responsibility to handle the mistakes that have occurred… It is also incredibly sad to leave Norsk Tipping and all the talented people who work in Hamar.”
Sagstuen is set to receive six months’ severance pay, in accordance with her employment agreement. Her annual salary had been reported at 3.7 million kroner (approximately $370,000).
Norsk Tipping acknowledged in its announcement that the organization has faced “a number of technical problems” over the past year and pledged to continue investigating the incident to prevent future errors.
A spokesperson for the company has not yet provided further comment.
With input from the Guardian and CBS News.
