Thousands of Norwegians incorrectly informed of big lottery wins
July 1 (UPI) -- The national lottery operator in Norway apologized after at least 47,000 people who won small amounts were mistakenly told they had won much more.
Norsk Tipping sent a text message to 47,000 lottery players in the country informing them that their reported prize amounts for the Eurojackpot drawing had been mistakenly inflated due to an error in currency conversion.
The operator explained the prize amounts it receives from Germany are given in euros, which are then converted to Norwegian kroner. The error occurred during conversion for the recent Eurojackpot drawing, when the number of euros was multiplied by 100, instead of being divided.
Ole Fredrik Sveen, 53, one of the players who received the correction, said he was initially told he had won 1.2 million kroner -- about $119,010 -- but later learned his prize was only 125 kroner, or $12.40.
"You could have been really unlucky and spent a large amount of money then found out it wasn't true," Sveen told The Guardian. "But thankfully we kept our heads cool and realized it wasn't meant to be this time either."
Norsk Tipping apologized for the error, saying none of the incorrect prize amounts had been paid out.
"Norsk Tipping sincerely apologizes to everyone who was notified of an incorrect prize amount," the company said in a statement.
Norsk Tipping CEO Tonje Sagstuen apologized in a separate statement issued Saturday.
"I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us," Sagstuen said. "I have received many messages from people who had managed to make plans for holidays, buying an apartment or renovating before they realized that the amount was wrong."
Sagstuen has since stepped down as CEO, and was replaced by acting CEO Vegar Strand.
"We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping I would like to apologize to everyone who was affected by this," Strand said in a statement after taking up the position.
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