Norwegian Lottery Apologizes After Thousands Mistakenly Told They Won Big Eurojackpot Prizes

 

Norway’s national lottery, Norsk Tipping, has issued a public apology after a coding error led to thousands of players being mistakenly informed they had won massive sums in the Eurojackpot lottery.

The error occurred during the conversion of prize amounts from euros to Norwegian kroner. Instead of dividing the amounts by 100, the system multiplied them—artificially inflating the winnings by a factor of 10,000.

Push notifications and messages were sent out to customers with the incorrect figures, causing widespread excitement before the company issued a correction.

“Norsk Tipping sincerely apologizes to everyone who was notified of an incorrect prize amount,” the company said in a statement. The mistake was attributed to a “manual coding error,” though the company confirmed that no customers were paid out the incorrect amounts.

In a follow-up statement, CEO Tonje Sagstuen expressed personal regret: “I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us.” She acknowledged receiving numerous messages from people who had made plans—such as vacations, home renovations, or even apartment purchases—based on the mistaken winnings.

“To them I can only say: Sorry! But I understand that it is a small consolation,” Sagstuen added.

Following the backlash, Sagstuen stepped down as CEO and was replaced by acting CEO Vegar Strand, who sent out another apology message on behalf of the company.

“On Friday evening, thousands of Norwegians were mistakenly told that they had won a large prize in Eurojackpot. This was an error that affected many and which we take very seriously,” the message read.

Strand emphasized that the company is “working intensively” to ensure a similar incident doesn’t occur in the future.

Although no player hit the jackpot in Friday’s draw, the Eurojackpot now stands at 377 million Norwegian kroner (approximately $37.3 million), with the next draw set for Tuesday.