A significant technical failure in the Norwegian Lottery Authority’s tip form system may have resulted in the loss of hundreds of vital reports from citizens. The issue began in March 2024, but went unnoticed until June 2025. Throughout this period, tips submitted through the organization’s online form were not archived and processed.

Error Blocked Submission of Anonymous Tips

The tip form allows the public to anonymously report concerns related to illegal gambling, foundations, and grants to voluntary organizations. However, this tool experienced a glitch that silently blocked all submissions. Users didn’t know their tips were not received, and the organization remained unaware of the issue for over a year. 

“We depend on tips from the public, and people should have confidence that the tips they send will reach us. This is a serious mistake, and it took far too long for us to discover it. Getting tips is important to us,” said Atle Hamar, Director of the Lottery and Foundations Authority. 

He acknowledged the gravity of the situation, but confirmed that the error has now been resolved and tips can once again be sent through the online form.

Potential Loss of Hundreds of Reports

While the public continued to share information through other channels such as email, contact forms, and phone calls, all tips submitted through the dedicated online form were lost, except for 120 recovered from the past two months. Due to privacy protocols, older tips were automatically deleted and remain unrecoverable.

“This means that several hundred tips may be lost to us, but we do not have exact numbers. We will thoroughly review this and make the necessary changes to prevent something similar from happening again,” said Hamar.

This lapse in tip collection might have affected the agency’s ability to investigate issues promptly and also raised concerns about accountability, as anonymous tips are often the first step in uncovering serious violations.

Public Encouraged to Resend Tips

In light of the error, the agency is asking the public to consider resending tips they submitted between March 2024 and June 2025 using the functional tip form. “We are concerned that we may have missed important tips, and hope people will send us their tips again,” said Director Hamar.

The agency reassures the public that future submissions through the online tip form will be correctly received and stored. Those wishing to report can do so confidently via the updated tip form on the organisation’s website.