13 hours ago
Thousands of Norwegians told they were millionaires after lottery mistake
Thousands of Norwegians were told that they had won the lottery and become millionaires after an error by the state-owned gambling operator.
Norsk Tipping said 'several thousand customers were notified of incorrectly high prizes' because of a mathematical error following Friday's Eurojackpot.
The gambling company receives its prize amounts from Germany in euros, which are then converted into Norway's Kroner currency.
It said in a statement: 'It is during this conversion that a manual error has been made in the code that is entered into our game engine. The amount has been multiplied by 100, instead of being divided by 100.'
Several Norwegians told the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that they had started celebrating before being told of the mistake.
One couple in Herøy believed that they had won 1.2 million kroner (£87,000), which they would have spent on a home renovation, while others said they had planned to go on holiday.
'It was a very fun minute,' said Lise Naustdal, who thought she had won 1.9 million kroner (£138,000).
Norsk Tipping confirmed that no payouts were made after the inflated sums were posted on the company's website and mobile app on Friday evening.
The company has faced backlash from customers, regulators and the Norwegian government.
'Such mistakes should not happen'
Lubna Jaffery, Norway's culture minister, held an emergency meeting on Saturday to explain the incident
She told NRK that 'such mistakes should not happen', especially as Norsk Tipping has the exclusive right to deliver gaming services in the country.
'We expect the board to work actively to improve the control routines,' she said.
Tonje Sagstuen, Norsk Tipping's chief executive, announced that she would step down from the role after only two years at the helm.
She said in a statement: 'As a manager, it has been my responsibility to handle the mistakes that have occurred.
'Therefore, it is also incredibly sad to leave Norsk Tipping and all the talented people who work in Hamar. I will miss everyone I have worked with, but I am confident that all the improvement processes we have initiated are in good hands.'
Ms Sagstuen said she had received messages from several people who told her of their plans had the win been real.
'To them I can only say, sorry. But I understand that it is a small consolation,' she said.
The company had already been under intense scrutiny after 'several serious' technical errors were uncovered within its computer system in recent months and it had 'experienced a number of technical problems in the past year'.
