Norwegian Lottery Mistakenly Tells Thousands They Won Huge Prizes Due to Math Error

Red Dog Security

04 Jul 2025 — 2 min read

In a surreal twist of luck gone wrong, thousands of Norwegians were mistakenly led to believe they had won life-changing sums in the Eurojackpot lottery—only to discover it was all due to a simple, but costly, math error.

What Went Wrong?

Eurojackpot, a pan-European lottery that’s been running since 2012, holds draws twice a week with prize pools ranging from €10 million to €120 million. Last week, Norway’s official lottery operator, Norsk Tipping, admitted that a manual data entry mistake dramatically inflated the announced winnings.

While converting euro cents into Norwegian kroner, an employee multiplied the values by 100 instead of dividing, causing prize amounts to appear 10,000 times higher than they actually were. The company labeled it a “non-technical error”—essentially a human typo—and has promised a thorough investigation to prevent a repeat.

The Fallout: Dreams Built (Then Shattered)

For a brief period, thousands of players truly believed they had struck gold. Screens displayed winnings in the millions, prompting many to start making real plans—vacations, home upgrades, debt payoffs. But the dream unraveled fast.

Although no incorrect payouts were made, the emotional damage was done.

Former CEO Tonje Sagstuen, who stepped down following the incident, issued a public apology:

“I received many messages from people who had already planned vacations, home purchases, or renovations before realizing the amounts were wrong. All I can say is: Sorry.”

A Pattern of Troubles for Norsk Tipping

This blunder caps off what’s been a troubled year for the state-run lottery provider:

April 2025: A system glitch between the customer database and the lottery engine caused significant delays in confirming winners.
February 2025: Norway’s gambling authority proposed sanctions over Norsk Tipping’s repeated failures in managing its self-exclusion tool—a critical safeguard for problem gamblers.

These incidents have drawn scrutiny from regulators and sparked public concern over the company’s internal controls and reliability.

New Leadership Steps In

In the wake of Sagstuen’s resignation, interim CEO Vegar Strand has taken over, pledging to restore public confidence:

“We’ve deeply disappointed our customers and take full responsibility for fixing this. The criticism from Norwegian authorities is entirely justified.”

Strand emphasized that changes are underway to tighten oversight and improve quality assurance across all digital and operational systems.

Why It Matters

This incident serves as a stark reminder that even small technical or human errors—particularly in high-stakes environments like lotteries—can lead to mass confusion and disappointment.

For players, the emotional rollercoaster of false hope is more than a blip. And for the operator, the credibility hit could have long-term consequences, both in public trust and regulatory standing.

In a digital age where large-scale systems rely on both automation and human input, the lesson is clear: accuracy isn’t optional—it’s everything.

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