Norwegian lottery apologizes after thousands mistakenly told they won millions

Norsk Tipping, the Norwegian operator of the Eurojackpot lottery, has issued a public apology after thousands of players were mistakenly informed they had won massive lottery prizes.

The error, which stemmed from a currency conversion mistake, resulted in inflated prize amounts being displayed to participants.

The mistake occurred during the conversion of winnings from euros to Norwegian kroner. Instead of dividing the euro amounts to calculate the correct prize in kroner, the system multiplied them, creating the illusion that players had won life-changing sums of money. According to a report from the BBC, some players were shown winnings nearly 100 times larger than their actual payouts.

Norsk Tipping confirmed that no incorrect winnings were paid out. However, the emotional toll was significant. CEO Tonje Sagstuen issued a formal apology, stating, “I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us.” She resigned from her position a day after the incident.

Many players shared stories of excitement quickly turning into disappointment. One woman told Norwegian outlet VG that she believed she had won 980,000 kroner (around $97,000), only to later learn she had actually won 97 kroner (about $10). “It felt like the world’s steepest rollercoaster,” she said.

Initially, Norsk Tipping reported that 16,000 people were affected, but that number was later corrected to 47,000. Eurojackpot, which operates across 19 European countries, has odds of 1 in 140 million for hitting the grand prize, though smaller prizes are awarded for fewer matching numbers.