Latest news with #VegarStrand
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Norway lottery operator apologises to 47,000 players over prize mixup
Norwegian lottery bosses have sent a text message apologising to tens of thousands of disappointed players who were accidentally told they had won large sums of money. Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gambling operator, had admitted 'several thousand' people were mistakenly told on Friday they had won life-changing sums of money after an error in converting from euros to Norwegian kroner. It was not until Monday, three days later, that a text message was sent to 47,000 people apologising for the error. '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,' wrote Norsk Tipping's managing director, Vegar Strand, in the text message. 'We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping, I would like to apologise to everyone affected by this. We are incredibly sorry to have disappointed so many.' Among those who received the text message was Ole Fredrik Sveen, 53, who had received a notification informing him that he had won 1.2m kroner (£86,650) while he was on holiday in Greece. It later turned out he had won a modest 125 kroner (£9). 'At first you're ecstatic and happy about the message you got, that says you won 1.2m kroner,' said Sveen, a culinary school teacher from near Oslo. But his elation had been short-lived. After 15 minutes he grew suspicious and started checking Norwegian news sites only to discover that many people had similarly been told they had won big sums of money. 'You could have been really unlucky and spent a large amount of money then found out it wasn't true,' he said. 'But thankfully we kept our heads cool and realised it wasn't meant to be this time either.' Sveen said he had put the disappointment behind him and while 125 kroner would not get him very much, he would be celebrating the win anyway. 'You don't get too much champagne for that money. It's more like a glass of prosecco or crémant than champagne,' he said. Norsk Tipping has been strongly criticised for the mistake by players and authorities. Sveen said he had lost confidence in the lottery and would think twice about playing in future. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Norway's lottery authority said it had launched a review to see whether any gambling laws had been broken, and the country's culture minister, Lubna Jaffery, said the error was 'totally unacceptable'. Norsk Tipping and the culture ministry have been contacted for comment. Strand said in his text message to players that the company was 'working intensively' to make sure that such a mistake would not happen again. Norsk Tipping's chief executive announced over the weekend that she would step down.
The Guardian
14 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Norway lottery operator apologises to 47,000 people it told they won in error
Norwegian lottery bosses have sent a text message apologising to tens of thousands of disappointed players who were accidentally told they had won large sums of money. Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gambling operator, had previously admitted 'several thousand' people had mistakenly been told on Friday they had won life-changing sums of money after an error in converting the sum from euros to Norwegian kroner, but it was not until Monday, three days later, that a text message was sent to 47,000 people apologising for the error. '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,' wrote Norsk Tipping's managing director, Vegar Strand, in the text message. 'We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping, I would like to apologise to everyone affected by this. We are incredibly sorry to have disappointed so many.' Among those who received the text message was Ole Fredrik Sveen, 53, who received a notification informing him that he had won 1.2m NOK (£86,650) while he was on holiday in Greece. It later turned out that he had won a modest 125 NOK (£9). 'At first you're ecstatic and happy about the message you got, that says you won 1.2m NOK,' he said. But the elation of the culinary school teacher from near Oslo was short-lived. After 15 minutes he grew suspicious and started checking Norwegian news sites only to discover that many people had similarly been told they had won big sums of money. 'You could have been really unlucky and spent a large amount of money then found out it wasn't true,' he said. 'But thankfully we kept our heads cool and realised it wasn't meant to be this time either.' Sveen said he had put the disappointment behind him and, while 125 NOK would not get him very much, he would be celebrating the win anyway. 'You don't get too much champagne for that money. It's more like a glass of prosecco or crémant than champagne,' he said. Norsk Tipping has been strongly criticised for the mistake both by players and authorities. Sveen said he had lost confidence in the lottery and would think twice about playing in future. Norway's lottery authority said it had launched a review to see whether any gambling laws had been broken and the country's culture minister, Lubna Jaffery, said the error was 'totally unacceptable'. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Norsk Tipping and the culture ministry have been contacted for comment. Strand said in his text message to players that the company was 'working intensively' to make sure that such a mistake does not happen again. Norsk Tipping's chief executive had over the weekend announced she would step down.
CNN
18 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Thousands of Norwegians mistakenly told they'd won life-changing sums in lottery error
Norway's national lottery has apologized after thousands of players were mistakenly told that they had won large sums in the Eurojackpot draw due to a coding error. Norsk Tipping receives the prize amounts from Germany in euros, then coverts them to Norwegian kroner. However, it was during the conversion that an error occurred and winnings were multiplied by 100, rather than divided by 100, the company said in a statement Friday. Norsk Tipping sent messages and push notifications to customers that showed the wrong, inflated winnings, before later issuing a correction. 'Norsk Tipping sincerely apologizes to everyone who was notified of an incorrect prize amount,' it said. The company blamed the issue on a 'manual coding error.' 'No customers have been paid the wrong prize,' it added. In a separate statement on Saturday, Norsk Tipping CEO Tonje Sagstuen also apologized for the error. 'I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us,' said Sagstuen in the statement. 'I have received many messages from people who had managed to make plans for holidays, buying an apartment or renovating before they realized that the amount was wrong,' she said. 'To them I can only say: Sorry! But I understand that it is a small consolation,' added Sagstuen, who later stepped down and was replaced by acting CEO Vegar Strand. The company then sent out another apology message signed by Strand. '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,' it read. 'We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping I would like to apologize to everyone who was affected by this,' said Strand, who added that the company was 'working intensively' to make sure that something similar doesn't happen again. As no one correctly matched all of the numbers in Friday's draw, the Eurojackpot has now reached 377 million Norwegian kroner ($37.3 million), with the next draw scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
CNN
18 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Thousands of Norwegians mistakenly told they'd won life-changing sums in lottery error
Norway's national lottery has apologized after thousands of players were mistakenly told that they had won large sums in the Eurojackpot draw due to a coding error. Norsk Tipping receives the prize amounts from Germany in euros, then coverts them to Norwegian kroner. However, it was during the conversion that an error occurred and winnings were multiplied by 100, rather than divided by 100, the company said in a statement Friday. Norsk Tipping sent messages and push notifications to customers that showed the wrong, inflated winnings, before later issuing a correction. 'Norsk Tipping sincerely apologizes to everyone who was notified of an incorrect prize amount,' it said. The company blamed the issue on a 'manual coding error.' 'No customers have been paid the wrong prize,' it added. In a separate statement on Saturday, Norsk Tipping CEO Tonje Sagstuen also apologized for the error. 'I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us,' said Sagstuen in the statement. 'I have received many messages from people who had managed to make plans for holidays, buying an apartment or renovating before they realized that the amount was wrong,' she said. 'To them I can only say: Sorry! But I understand that it is a small consolation,' added Sagstuen, who later stepped down and was replaced by acting CEO Vegar Strand. The company then sent out another apology message signed by Strand. '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,' it read. 'We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping I would like to apologize to everyone who was affected by this,' said Strand, who added that the company was 'working intensively' to make sure that something similar doesn't happen again. As no one correctly matched all of the numbers in Friday's draw, the Eurojackpot has now reached 377 million Norwegian kroner ($37.3 million), with the next draw scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
CNN
18 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Thousands of Norwegians mistakenly told they'd won life-changing sums in lottery error
Norway's national lottery has apologized after thousands of players were mistakenly told that they had won large sums in the Eurojackpot draw due to a coding error. Norsk Tipping receives the prize amounts from Germany in euros, then coverts them to Norwegian kroner. However, it was during the conversion that an error occurred and winnings were multiplied by 100, rather than divided by 100, the company said in a statement Friday. Norsk Tipping sent messages and push notifications to customers that showed the wrong, inflated winnings, before later issuing a correction. 'Norsk Tipping sincerely apologizes to everyone who was notified of an incorrect prize amount,' it said. The company blamed the issue on a 'manual coding error.' 'No customers have been paid the wrong prize,' it added. In a separate statement on Saturday, Norsk Tipping CEO Tonje Sagstuen also apologized for the error. 'I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us,' said Sagstuen in the statement. 'I have received many messages from people who had managed to make plans for holidays, buying an apartment or renovating before they realized that the amount was wrong,' she said. 'To them I can only say: Sorry! But I understand that it is a small consolation,' added Sagstuen, who later stepped down and was replaced by acting CEO Vegar Strand. The company then sent out another apology message signed by Strand. '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,' it read. 'We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping I would like to apologize to everyone who was affected by this,' said Strand, who added that the company was 'working intensively' to make sure that something similar doesn't happen again. As no one correctly matched all of the numbers in Friday's draw, the Eurojackpot has now reached 377 million Norwegian kroner ($37.3 million), with the next draw scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
