Thousands in Norway fooled by major lottery error
The country's government-owned Norsk Tipping said a 'manual error' resulted in customers being wrongly informed on Friday that that they had won 'excessively high prizes'.
According to local news outlets, the company believes 'several thousand' people who won prizes in the Eurojackpot had been notified of incorrect amounts.
It declined to confirm the exact number of people impacted by the error. Norsk Tipping is the main lottery company in the country, and is owned by the Norwegian government. Credit: Supplied
The mistake stemmed from a conversion error when winnings in Euros, which the company receives from Germany, were converted to Norwegian kroner.
Norsk Tipping has said the prize totals were multiplied by 100 instead of divided by 100.
One woman in the middle of a renovation project told Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation that she received a notification she had won 1.2 million kroner ($182,000) but instead received only a small fraction of that sum.
Norsk Tipping chief executive Tonje Sagstuen released a statement on Saturday to address the company's blunder. Norsk Tipping CEO Tonje Sagstuen issued a statement on her company's error. Credit: Supplied
'I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us,' she said.
'I have received many messages from people who had managed to make plans for holidays, buying an apartment or renovating before they realised that the amount was wrong.
'To them I can only say sorry, but I understand that it is a small consolation,' she said, adding that the mistake was a 'breach of trust' for consumers.
On Sunday, the Norsk Tipping board held an emergency meeting with the Norwegian Government's Ministry of Culture, which ended with Ms Sagstuen stepping down from the company. The Norwegian government's Minister of Culture and Equality met with Norsk Tipping on Sunday and issued a statement on the mistake. Credit: Supplied
Norway's Minister of Culture and Equality Lubna Jaffery criticised the company after the meeting, saying that 'such mistakes should not happen'.
'We expect their board to work actively to improve the control routines,' she said.
Norsk Tipping is investigating the incident.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
22-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘UK's gone to hell': Billionaire puts $500 million London mansion up for sale
A billionaire shipping tycoon who said the UK had 'gone to hell' has put his £250 million ($517 million) London mansion up for sale after fleeing Britain. John Fredriksen, a Norwegian marine tycoon, is reportedly selling his 300-year old Georgian manor in Chelsea just weeks after criticising Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, for abolishing the non-domicile tax regime. The property, known as the Old Rectory, is one of Britain's most expensive houses with two acres of gardens and 10 bedrooms across 30,000 square feet. It is set to be put on the market with a £250 million price tag – with viewings already taking place, The Times reported. Loading Fredriksen, who was the UK's ninth-richest man with a £13.7 billion fortune before he announced his departure, bought the property in 2001 for around £40 million. The 81-year-old businessman, who is originally from Oslo, Norway, last month said that Reeves's tax raid had encouraged him to leave the UK and move to the United Arab Emirates. 'The entire Western world is on its way down,' he said, while the UK is 'starting to remind me more and more of Norway. Britain has gone to hell, like Norway'. The sale comes amid predictions that the UK is poised to lose more millionaires this year than any other country, which may fuel more high-end property sales.
The Age
22-07-2025
- The Age
‘UK's gone to hell': Billionaire puts $500 million London mansion up for sale
A billionaire shipping tycoon who said the UK had 'gone to hell' has put his £250 million ($517 million) London mansion up for sale after fleeing Britain. John Fredriksen, a Norwegian marine tycoon, is reportedly selling his 300-year old Georgian manor in Chelsea just weeks after criticising Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, for abolishing the non-domicile tax regime. The property, known as the Old Rectory, is one of Britain's most expensive houses with two acres of gardens and 10 bedrooms across 30,000 square feet. It is set to be put on the market with a £250 million price tag – with viewings already taking place, The Times reported. Loading Fredriksen, who was the UK's ninth-richest man with a £13.7 billion fortune before he announced his departure, bought the property in 2001 for around £40 million. The 81-year-old businessman, who is originally from Oslo, Norway, last month said that Reeves's tax raid had encouraged him to leave the UK and move to the United Arab Emirates. 'The entire Western world is on its way down,' he said, while the UK is 'starting to remind me more and more of Norway. Britain has gone to hell, like Norway'. The sale comes amid predictions that the UK is poised to lose more millionaires this year than any other country, which may fuel more high-end property sales.
Sky News AU
15-07-2025
- Sky News AU
Renewable targets dealt fresh blow as major Victorian offshore windfarm abandoned after energy giant failed to find buyer
A significant Victorian offshore wind project has been scrapped after US-backed energy giant BlueFloat confirmed it had failed to find a buyer. The company was reportedly mulling the sale of its Gippsland project off the Victorian coast in early July, with the development considered essential for meeting state and federal emission reduction deadlines. BlueFloat Energy acquired a feasibility license late last year to construct the Victorian offshore wind facility, and further secured a preliminary development license to build an offshore wind complex in New South Wales off the Illawarra coast. However, industry insiders told The Australian on Tuesday that after weeks of attempting to lock down a buyer, BlueFloat had failed in arranging the sale of the embattled development. Victoria, which stands as one of Australia's most fossil fuel dependent states has some of the most stringent renewable energy targets in the nation, and aims to reach 95 per cent clean energy generation by 2035. The dumping of the flagship Victorian facility is one of the first Australian casualties of the increasingly beleaguered offshore wind sector, with US President Donald Trump dampening global investment by tearing up mammoth subsidies to the industry. The sector has also faced lengthening completion timelines, conflicting state and federal regulation and a sharp downturn in private investment despite exorbitant government funding packages. Energy experts have also raised alarm at the concerning lack of transmission infrastructure to support offshore wind, paired with declining domestic manufacturing capabilities and persistent labour shortages. Victoria, unlike other states, has placed offshore wind at the heart of its decarbonisation strategy and set a bold target of producing nine gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2040 – which the state government claims is enough to power more than 6.5 million homes. The company is reportedly looking to exit the Australian market entirely, which would threaten its NSW South Pacific project in Illawarra. Sources close to the company said BlueFloat remained committed to finding a potential buyer for the NSW facility, despite the development relying on technology to float turbines - which is both risky and costly. The NSW South Pacific Project also has numerous local competitors, unlike Victoria. A company spokesperson told the ABC that 'BlueFloat continues to investigate funding options for its Australian projects.' The discontinuation of the Gippsland Dawn precinct is expected to raise alarm bells about the viability of offshore wind at federal and state levels, with both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan touting the technology as one of the most crucial elements to Australia's energy transition. However, BlueFloat is not the only global energy consortium facing mounting difficulties in Australia with Norwegian energy firm Equinor quietly dropping its plan to construct a wind farm in the Bass Strait off the north coast of Tasmania. Equinor is also yet to formally accept an offshore wind development licence in its last remaining Australian project off the coast of Newcastle, NSW. Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio has repeatedly said the Victorian government remains committed to overseeing an expansion of offshore wind projects despite the raft of headwinds facing the industry. Offshore wind is considered to be far more capital intensive and substantially less structurally stable than onshore wind generation.
