Lottery Blunder Leaves Thousands of Norwegians Disappointed After False Jackpot Notifications

Norsk Tipping mistakenly notified participants of inflated Eurojackpot winnings due to a currency conversion error, leaving many dreaming of riches only to face harsh reality.

In an astonishing turn of events, thousands of Norwegians were led to believe they had struck it rich through the Eurojackpot lottery, only to learn that a monumental mistake had been made. The state-owned gambling entity, Norsk Tipping, informed "several thousand" players on Friday that they had won staggering sums, only for the company to quickly clarify that these figures were incorrect due to a currency conversion error.

CEO Tonje Sagstuen, who took office just two months prior, resigned in the wake of the growing outrage, apologizing for the mishap that resulted in inflated prize amounts. Media reports revealed that a technical error had caused winnings to be excessively high due to a multiplication of figures when converting from Eurocents to Norwegian kroner. Instead of dividing the amounts by 100, they were inadvertently increased.

Updated correct amounts were rolled out on Saturday evening, making clear that no one would receive the astronomically inflated prizes. “I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many people, and I understand their anger," said Ms. Sagstuen in her resignation statement. The apology, however, provided little consolation for individuals who had begun to dream of how to spend their “winnings”—from trips abroad to home renovations.

One unfortunate individual, in the midst of a renovation, was originally told she had won around 1.2 million kroner (about $119,000), but she would later find that her actual prize was a mere fraction of that. The incident drew immediate attention, prompting an emergency meeting between the Norsk Tipping board and the Ministry of Culture on Saturday.

Minister of Culture and Equality Lubna Jaffery stated, "Such mistakes should not happen," highlighting that Norsk Tipping holds an exclusive license for gaming in Norway. She called for improvements to control systems to prevent future errors. The company, grappling with ongoing technical difficulties and criticism over several errors in recent months, acknowledged the need for reform and regaining the trust of its customers.