Thousands of residents in Norway were briefly swept up in a wave of excitement after receiving notifications from Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gambling operator, indicating that they had won substantial amounts in the Eurojackpot lottery. However, their dreams of sudden wealth were dashed when it was revealed that the notifications contained drastically inflated prize amounts due to a conversion error.
On Friday, "several thousand" individuals were notified about their winnings, but those fantasies quickly unraveled as Norsk Tipping acknowledged the mishap was caused by a faulty conversion from Eurocents to Norwegian kroner. Local media reported the amounts were mistakenly multiplied by 100 rather than being divided, leading to excessively high figures.
Following this blunder, Norsk Tipping's CEO, Tonje Sagstuen, issued an apology and resigned from her position within a day. She empathized with those affected, acknowledging that many were already planning significant life changes based on their supposed winnings—some had even begun renovations or made holiday plans based on inflated prize notifications.
Norsk Tipping announced that it had updated the prize amounts on Saturday evening and assured the public no incorrect payouts had been made. Sagstuen expressed her regret, explaining her responsibility in the failure of the system. She reflected on the disappointment expressed by many participants, especially a woman who had received a notification claiming she won 1.2 million kroner but ultimately received much less.
An emergency meeting took place between the board of Norsk Tipping and the Ministry of Culture, the body overseeing the company. Minister of Culture and Equality Lubna Jaffery demanded improvements to their control systems, emphasizing the unacceptability of such errors, especially considering Norsk Tipping's exclusive rights to gaming services in Norway.
This mistake isn't isolated, as Norsk Tipping faces ongoing criticism for various technical issues and operational errors that have surfaced recently. The board has been under scrutiny for multiple failures, prompting calls for a thorough reassessment of their processes and oversight. The public's trust in the institution, which has operated since 2006, now hangs in the balance as the fallout from this event continues.
