"Millions in Lottery Winnings" Thousands Celebrate in Norway... One Day Later, "It Was a Mistake" Shocking Reversal

Error in Prize Conversion Process
Thousands Receive Incorrect Amount Notifications
"All I Can Say Is Sorry..." Lottery Company CEO Resigns

A notification error occurred at the Norwegian state lottery company, resulting in thousands of people receiving incorrect prize amounts.

Norwegian state lottery company Norsk Tipping mistakenly announced the Eurojackpot winner, causing confusion. Norsk Tipping official website

According to the BBC on June 29 (local time), Norwegian state lottery company Norsk Tipping announced that it had sent notifications with incorrect amounts to thousands of Eurojackpot winners. The exact number of affected individuals was not disclosed.

Tonje Sagstuen, CEO of Norsk Tipping, apologized for the mistake and resigned within a day. In a statement, CEO Sagstuen said, "I sincerely apologize for disappointing so many people," and added, "The criticism is justified, and this was a breach of trust." She stated, "I received messages from people who were planning vacations, renovating their homes, or looking to buy apartments," and continued, "Although it may not be much comfort, all I can say is that I am sorry."

This error occurred during the process of converting Euro cents into Norwegian kroner. Norsk Tipping receives the prize amounts in euros from Germany and converts them into Norwegian kroner for notification. However, instead of dividing by 100 as required, the amount was mistakenly multiplied by 100, causing the prize to be displayed excessively high.

However, the company stated that no incorrect prize amounts were actually paid out. As of the evening of June 29, the prize amounts had been corrected.

According to Norwegian media outlet NRK, one woman received a notification that 1.2 million kroner (approximately 160 million won) had been paid, but it was later revealed that she only received a portion of that amount.

Regarding this incident, the Norsk Tipping board held an emergency meeting with the Ministry of Culture, which oversees the company. Afterward, CEO Sagstuen resigned. CEO Sagstuen stated, "The system failed in several areas, and this is my responsibility," and added, "I am sad to leave, but it is a relief that improvement procedures are already in place."

Lubna Jaffery, Norway's Minister of Culture and Equality, said in an interview with NRK, "Such mistakes should never happen," and emphasized, "Since Norsk Tipping holds a monopoly on these services in Norway, the board must actively improve control procedures."

Meanwhile, Eurojackpot is a lottery jointly issued by 19 European countries. To win the first prize, players must match 5 out of 50 numbers and 2 out of 12 additional numbers, with the odds being only about 1 in 140 million. The first prize can reach up to 120 million euros (190 billion won).