Norsk Tipping must pay NOK25m (€2.1m) because regulators found a technical failure in the 19 April Super Draw. The failure created 52 incorrect winners. September warnings from the Norwegian Lottery Authority preceded this confirmation. A system error deleted bets from cooperative banks during the Christmas and New Year periods. Norsk Tipping’s player database lost these wagers completely. The 19 April draw excluded these bets and produced dozens of unintended winners. Players received refunds for their affected stakes.

Tore Bell serves as department director at the Norwegian Lottery Authority. He stated the operator failed verification of all valid bets. Earlier technical faults existed in Norsk Tipping’s draw systems. Regulators knew about concerns before 19 April happened. They considered suspending the draw entirely. Norsk Tipping gave assurances about error-free process execution. The authority discovered these assurances were incorrect later. Faults occurred despite warnings and previous malfunctions. Days passed after the event initially. Norsk Tipping reported a correct draw basis and accurate winning odds for Super Draw.

Later investigations revealed completely different facts. These findings prompted the fee decision. The broader review includes the company’s lottery systems examination. Major inspection covers Lotto, Eurojackpot and Vikinglotto currently.

Pattern of Problems Emerges

NOK25m represents the fifth major fine for Norsk Tipping within one year. Total penalties exceed NOK 100 m now. One case involved NOK25m in erroneous winnings from KongKasino digital casino product. A single player received this incorrect amount. Regulators imposed an NOK4.5m fine initially. The Lottery Board reduced it to NOK 2.5 m after the operator’s appeal. Another incident affected iPhone and iPad users specifically. Self-exclusion features remained inactive for four months. The customer complaint revealed this unnoticed failure. Regulators issued an NOK36m fine for this violation.

Drawing errors occurred in Eurojackpot and Lotto separately. Cooperatives, cooperative banks and gambling clubs experienced elevated winning probabilities. Several years passed with this advantage continuing. Every draw during the affected period produced incorrect winners. NOK46m fine resulted from these findings. June brought notifications to several thousand customers. Prize amounts appeared inflated in these messages. The authority added a NOK10m fine for this issue. Regulators describe recurring challenges with Norsk Tipping’s system reliability. Mandated controls need sufficient rigour in implementation.