Latest news with #OleFredrikSveen
CTV News
01-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Thousands in Norway mistakenly told they won big on lottery
Oslo, Norway -- A Norwegian lottery company on Monday apologized to 47,000 crestfallen gamblers who were mistakenly told they had won huge sums in a lottery, the firm blaming a currency conversion error. State-owned gambling group Norsk Tipping said they had published incorrect prize amounts after a Eurojackpot draw on Friday because of an error converting from euro cents to Norwegian kroner. The winnings had been multiplied by 100 instead of being divided by 100, the company said. Among the disappointed was Ole Fredrik Sveen, who was on holiday in Greece when he received a message from Norsk Tipping that he had won 1.2 million kroner (US$119,000). 'I thought: 'Wow, is it finally my turn? Could it be true?' I go onto the Norsk Tipping website, and there it says in black and white: 'Congratulations, you have won!'' Sveen told public broadcaster NRK on Monday. In reality, he had won 125 kroner (US$12). On Monday, Sveen and the 47,000 others received apologies by text message from Norsk Tipping for the snafu. 'The apology was a poor consolation. They should have sent it out after the mistake, not today,' he said. Norsk Tipping has been heavily criticized for the error -- not only from devastated players like Sveen but also from the authorities. The Lottery Authority said Monday it had launched a review to determine if gambling laws had been broken, and Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery called the error 'totally unacceptable.' The firm's chief executive Tonje Sagstuen resigned on Saturday after the scandal, leaving acting chief executive Vegar Strand to apologize on Monday. Strand said his company's state ownership made the mistake particularly problematic, noting that the firm was 'entirely dependent on the trust of the population.' 'We have deeply disappointed our customers and take full responsibility for rectifying the situation. Such errors are serious for a company that is supposed to manage the trust of Norwegians,' Strand said. 'The work to rebuild trust again has the highest priority going forward.' AFP
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Norway lottery operator apologises to 47,000 players over prize mixup
Norwegian lottery bosses have sent a text message apologising to tens of thousands of disappointed players who were accidentally told they had won large sums of money. Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gambling operator, had admitted 'several thousand' people were mistakenly told on Friday they had won life-changing sums of money after an error in converting from euros to Norwegian kroner. It was not until Monday, three days later, that a text message was sent to 47,000 people apologising for the error. 'Thousands of Norwegians were mistakenly informed that they had won a large prize in the Eurojackpot. This was a mistake that affected many and which we take very seriously,' wrote Norsk Tipping's managing director, Vegar Strand, in the text message. 'We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping, I would like to apologise to everyone affected by this. We are incredibly sorry to have disappointed so many.' Among those who received the text message was Ole Fredrik Sveen, 53, who had received a notification informing him that he had won 1.2m kroner (£86,650) while he was on holiday in Greece. It later turned out he had won a modest 125 kroner (£9). 'At first you're ecstatic and happy about the message you got, that says you won 1.2m kroner,' said Sveen, a culinary school teacher from near Oslo. But his elation had been short-lived. After 15 minutes he grew suspicious and started checking Norwegian news sites only to discover that many people had similarly been told they had won big sums of money. 'You could have been really unlucky and spent a large amount of money then found out it wasn't true,' he said. 'But thankfully we kept our heads cool and realised it wasn't meant to be this time either.' Sveen said he had put the disappointment behind him and while 125 kroner would not get him very much, he would be celebrating the win anyway. 'You don't get too much champagne for that money. It's more like a glass of prosecco or crémant than champagne,' he said. Norsk Tipping has been strongly criticised for the mistake by players and authorities. Sveen said he had lost confidence in the lottery and would think twice about playing in future. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Norway's lottery authority said it had launched a review to see whether any gambling laws had been broken, and the country's culture minister, Lubna Jaffery, said the error was 'totally unacceptable'. Norsk Tipping and the culture ministry have been contacted for comment. Strand said in his text message to players that the company was 'working intensively' to make sure that such a mistake would not happen again. Norsk Tipping's chief executive announced over the weekend that she would step down.
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Norway lottery operator apologises to 47,000 people it told they won in error
Norwegian lottery bosses have sent a text message apologising to tens of thousands of disappointed players who were accidentally told they had won large sums of money. Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gambling operator, had previously admitted 'several thousand' people had mistakenly been told on Friday they had won life-changing sums of money after an error in converting the sum from euros to Norwegian kroner, but it was not until Monday, three days later, that a text message was sent to 47,000 people apologising for the error. 'Thousands of Norwegians were mistakenly informed that they had won a large prize in the Eurojackpot. This was a mistake that affected many and which we take very seriously,' wrote Norsk Tipping's managing director, Vegar Strand, in the text message. 'We deeply regret what has happened, and on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping, I would like to apologise to everyone affected by this. We are incredibly sorry to have disappointed so many.' Among those who received the text message was Ole Fredrik Sveen, 53, who received a notification informing him that he had won 1.2m NOK (£86,650) while he was on holiday in Greece. It later turned out that he had won a modest 125 NOK (£9). 'At first you're ecstatic and happy about the message you got, that says you won 1.2m NOK,' he said. But the elation of the culinary school teacher from near Oslo was short-lived. After 15 minutes he grew suspicious and started checking Norwegian news sites only to discover that many people had similarly been told they had won big sums of money. 'You could have been really unlucky and spent a large amount of money then found out it wasn't true,' he said. 'But thankfully we kept our heads cool and realised it wasn't meant to be this time either.' Sveen said he had put the disappointment behind him and, while 125 NOK would not get him very much, he would be celebrating the win anyway. 'You don't get too much champagne for that money. It's more like a glass of prosecco or crémant than champagne,' he said. Norsk Tipping has been strongly criticised for the mistake both by players and authorities. Sveen said he had lost confidence in the lottery and would think twice about playing in future. Norway's lottery authority said it had launched a review to see whether any gambling laws had been broken and the country's culture minister, Lubna Jaffery, said the error was 'totally unacceptable'. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Norsk Tipping and the culture ministry have been contacted for comment. Strand said in his text message to players that the company was 'working intensively' to make sure that such a mistake does not happen again. Norsk Tipping's chief executive had over the weekend announced she would step down.
RTÉ News
30-06-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Thousands in Norway mistakenly told they won big on lottery
A Norwegian lottery company has apologised to 47,000 people who were mistakenly told they had won huge sums in a lottery, with the firm blaming a currency conversion error. State-owned gambling group Norsk Tipping said they had published incorrect prize amounts after a Eurojackpot draw on Friday because of an error converting from euro cents to Norwegian kroner. The winnings had been multiplied by 100 instead of being divided by 100, the company said. Among the disappointed was Ole Fredrik Sveen, who was on holiday in Greece when he received a message from Norsk Tipping that he had won 1.2 million kroner (€101,400). "I thought: 'Wow, is it finally my turn? Could it be true?' I go onto the Norsk Tipping website, and there it says in black and white: 'Congratulations, you have won!'," Mr Sveen told public broadcaster NRK. In reality, he had won 125 kroner (€10). He and the 47,000 others received apologies by text message from Norsk Tipping for the snafu. "The apology was a poor consolation. They should have sent it out after the mistake, not today," he said. Norsk Tipping has been heavily criticised for the error - not only from devastated players like Mr Sveen but also from the authorities. The Lottery Authority said it had launched a review to determine if gambling laws had been broken, and Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery called the error "totally unacceptable". The firm's chief executive Tonje Sagstuen resigned on Saturday after the scandal, leaving acting chief executive Vegar Strand to apologise today. Mr Strand said his company's state ownership made the mistake particularly problematic, noting that the firm was "entirely dependent on the trust of the population". "We have deeply disappointed our customers and take full responsibility for rectifying the situation. Such errors are serious for a company that is supposed to manage the trust of Norwegians," he said.
South China Morning Post
30-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
47,000 ‘winning' lottery tickets in Norway turn out to be a costly conversion mistake
A Norwegian lottery company on Monday apologised to 47,000 crestfallen gamblers who were mistakenly told they had won huge sums in a lottery, the firm blaming a currency conversion error. State-owned gambling group Norsk Tipping said they had published incorrect prize amounts after a Eurojackpot draw on Friday because of an error converting from euro cents to Norwegian kroner. The winnings had been multiplied by 100 instead of being divided by 100, the company said. Among the disappointed was Ole Fredrik Sveen, who was on holiday in Greece when he received a message from Norsk Tipping that he had won 1.2 million kroner (US$119,000). 'I thought: 'Wow, is it finally my turn? Could it be true?' I go onto the Norsk Tipping website, and there it says in black and white: 'Congratulations, you have won!',' Sveen told public broadcaster NRK on Monday. In reality, he had won 125 kroner (US$12). On Monday, Sveen and the 47,000 others received apologies by text message from Norsk Tipping for the snafu.
