THOUSANDS of people in Norway were mistakenly told they had won life-changing amounts of money in a blunder by the lottery.
Some were even told they had become millionaires and began planning new futures – only to find their true prizes were much smaller.
Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gambling operator in Norway, has admitted to alerting several thousand individuals of incorrectly high prizes won in the Euro Jackpot.
The agonising mistake prompted the CEO to step down.
It arose from a calculation error when prize amounts, received from Germany in Euros, were converted to the Norwegian Kroner.
The company explained: “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.”
The eye-watering prizes were displayed on the website and mobile app on Friday but later removed.
No incorrect sums were paid out, Norsk Tipping confirmed.
Among those affected is a woman currently in the midst of a renovation project, who shared with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that she was initially informed of winning £87,000, only to receive a significantly lower amount instead.
Others said they made plans to buy cars and planned holidays – only to have it all snatched away.
Lise Naustdal, who thought she had won £138,000, said: “It was a very fun minute.”
The company was hauled in front of the Ministry of Culture for an emergency meeting on Saturday.
Following the scolding, Tonje Sagstuen, its chief since 2023, stepped down.
She said: “I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us.
“Here, things have failed in several places, this is my responsibility.”
Tonje admitted that “criticism is justified” over the “breach of trust”.
Lubna Jaffery, Norway’s Minister of Culture and Equality, expressed to NRK that errors of this nature should not occur, particularly since Norsk Tipping holds the exclusive rights to provide gaming services in the country.
She said: “We expect the board to work actively to improve the control routines.”
Tonje added: “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.”
