For one brief, thrilling moment, thousands of lottery players in Norway believed they had hit life-changing jackpots. However, that excitement quickly turned to dismay after Norsk Tipping, the country’s official lottery operator, revealed a significant error in prize calculations following the Eurojackpot draw on June 27.
The root of the problem lay in the currency conversion process. Norsk Tipping receives prize data from Germany, where winnings are calculated in Euros. These amounts are then converted to Norwegian Kroner before being communicated to players. Unfortunately, a manual coding error caused the prize amounts to be multiplied by 100 instead of being divided, grossly inflating the reported winnings.
One Euro is approximately 85 pence, while one Norwegian Krone is about 10 pence, making the mistake glaringly apparent once discovered. Though no erroneous payments were made, the incorrect notifications sparked undue excitement, with some players imagining how they would spend their unexpectedly large windfalls.
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Among those affected was Lise Naustdal, who was initially told she had won 1.9 million Kroner (around £87,000), remarking, “It was a very fun minute.” It was not until three days later—on Monday—that Norsk Tipping sent out apology texts to roughly 47,000 players, admitting the mistake.
In an official message, managing director Vegar Strand expressed deep regret: “Thousands of Norwegians were mistakenly informed that they had won a large prize in the Eurojackpot. This was a mistake that affected many and which we take very seriously. We are incredibly sorry to have disappointed so many.”
Ole Fredrik Sveen, 53, received a message stating he had won 1.2 million Kroner while vacationing in Greece, only to learn his actual prize was 125 Kroner (£9). Reflecting on the experience, Sveen told The Guardian, “At first, you’re ecstatic… You could have been really unlucky and spent a large amount of money then found out it wasn’t true. But thankfully, we kept our heads cool.”
In response to the incident, Tonje Sagstuen, Norsk Tipping’s chief executive, apologized to the affected players and announced her decision to step down after two years leading the organization.
This mishap adds to a challenging period for Norsk Tipping, which has faced multiple technical problems in recent months. Norway’s culture minister, Lubna Jafery, emphasized the importance of improved oversight, stating, “Such mistakes should not happen. We expect the board to work actively to improve the control routines.”
Despite the setback, Norsk Tipping remains committed to restoring trust and ensuring such errors do not recur.