A recent system malfunction led thousands of hopeful Norwegians to believe they had become new millionaires, only to be disappointed by a communication error.
At a Glance
- Norway’s state-run lottery, Norsk Tipping, sent false winning notifications to nearly 10,000 players on Friday night.
- A coding error in the currency conversion added two extra zeros to prize amounts, inflating them 100-fold.
- The CEO of Norsk Tipping, Tonje Sagstuen, has resigned in the wake of the fiasco.
- No inflated payouts were made, but the Norwegian Gambling Authority is reviewing the incident.
A Costly Glitch Makes Thousands Millionaires—For a Moment
A “manual coding mistake” at Norway’s state-owned lottery operator, Norsk Tipping, caused thousands of Eurojackpot players to receive notifications on Friday night informing them they had won massive prizes. The error occurred during the conversion of winnings from euros to Norwegian kroner, accidentally adding two extra zeros to the prize amounts.
This simple glitch inflated winnings by a factor of 100, turning modest prizes into life-changing fortunes. As reported by CNN, nearly 10,000 players were affected by the false notifications.
A “Roller-Coaster of Emotions”
The error created a “roller coaster of emotions” for the affected players. One man, Ole Fredrik Sveen, told a Norwegian newspaper that he thought he had won over $10 million. “My pulse went through the roof,” he said. “I started shaking and sweating.”
Thousands in Norway told they won up to millions in lottery error https://t.co/eGaJzjIayc
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) June 29, 2025
Norsk Tipping quickly identified the error and sent out a second message to all affected players, explaining the mistake and providing the correct, much smaller, prize amounts. A spokesperson for the company confirmed that no incorrect payments were actually processed but issued a public apology for the emotional distress caused. “This is deeply regrettable,” the company said. “We can do nothing but apologize.”
Lottery CEO Resigns Over Fiasco
The fallout from the incident was swift. On Monday, June 30, 2025, the CEO of Norsk Tipping, Tonje Sagstuen, announced she was resigning from her position, taking responsibility for the massive error and the damage it caused to the lottery’s public trust.
As detailed in Newsweek, the Norwegian Gambling Authority has also launched a review of the incident to determine if any legal or regulatory protocols were violated. The case serves as a powerful reminder of the potential for even small human errors to have massive consequences in an automated, digital system.
