The national lottery company in Norway sent apology texts to 47,000 people after a mistake about large monetary wins. Norsk Tipping said many players were told wrong information about winning because of a euros to Norwegian kroner error. People received the incorrect messages on Friday, but the apology was only sent out on Monday to all who were affected. Norsk Tipping’s director, Vegar Strand, wrote that thousands were wrongly told about major Eurojackpot winnings and this was a serious issue.

Personal Impact of the Error on Players

The text by Strand said the company regretted the issue, apologised on behalf of the team at Norsk Tipping, and recognised disappointment among the players. One person who got the message, Ole Fredrik Sveen, 53, received news of a 1.2 million kroner (£86,650) win while he was in Greece. It turned out Sveen’s actual win was only 125 kroner (£9). Sveen, who teaches at a culinary school near Oslo, first believed he really won 1.2 million kroner and felt excited.

After a few minutes, he checked Norwegian news when he became doubtful and noticed others had gotten similar wrong messages. He explained some people could have quickly spent money based on false hope, but he and others kept calm and realised it was not their time. The disappointment did not last for Sveen, and even though 125 kroner is not a large amount, he decided he would celebrate anyway. He said this money could buy a glass of prosecco or crémant rather than champagne.

Public and Official Backlash after Lottery Error

After the mistake, both lottery players and government officials criticised Norsk Tipping strongly. Sveen stated that his trust in the lottery dropped after the incident, so he may not play lotteries easily again. Norway’s lottery authorities started an investigation to check if gambling laws were breached, and Minister Lubna Jaffery called the error totally unacceptable. Erlend Hanstveit, who works for Jaffery, noted the Friday error was serious and showed the company’s controls were not enough.

He said the Norwegian gambling monopoly brings billions of kroner, which helps culture, sports, and young people the most. According to Hanstveit, this problem is not the first for Norsk Tipping, and the ministry has been watching things closely and talking to both the lottery company and gambling authorities. He mentioned the need to find out why these mistakes happen, so such things will not repeat. Norsk Tipping was asked to comment officially.

Strand said through his apology that they were working very hard to prevent any such error from happening again. Norsk Tipping’s chief executive declared over the weekend that she would resign from her position.