- Norsk Tipping mistakenly notified tens of thousands of players that they had won millions in prizes due to a currency conversion error.
- The ruling consisted of multiplying the amounts earned by 100 when converting euro cents into Norwegian kroner.
- No improper payments were made, but the temporary deception sparked outrage and led to the resignation of the company's CEO.
- The incident calls into question the control and systems of the Norwegian lottery, which has already suffered technical incidents in the past.
Thousands of lottery players in Norway They went from euphoria to outrage in a matter of hours after receiving a message that made them millionaires overnight. The excitement, however, was short-lived, and it was soon discovered that it had all been the result of an unexpected technical error on the part of Norwegian Tipping, the state-owned company in charge of managing the draw Eurojackpot.
The news caused a great stir both inside and outside the Nordic country, since It is not usual for a simple computer failure to cause such a roller coaster of emotions. Tens of thousands of people were affected. Those affected, who in some cases even planned vacations, home improvements, or major purchases, soon had to face the harsh reality: The supposed prize was, in reality, just a mirage.
Currency conversion error: multiplying the prize amount by 100
It all started last Friday, when Norwegian Tipping communicated the results of the draw to its users EurojackpotThe problem arose during the process of transforming the prize amounts, which the company receives in euro cents from Germany and converts to Norwegian kroner. A system error caused the currency to multiply instead of dividing by 100 when calculating the conversion, artificially inflating the amount. up to a hundred times the actual value.
This failure caused thousands of people to receive notifications informing them of exorbitant and totally unrealistic prizesSome users even thought they had won millions of dollars, and there were even testimonies from people who saw prizes of more than one million Norwegian kroner (about $119.000) on their apps when the correct figure was actually much lower, around 125 crowns in some cases.
The situation was visible for almost a full day, until the company, after being alerted to the problem, updated the amounts on Saturday night. According to Norwegian Tipping, no erroneous payments were ever made, so the failure was limited to incorrect communication, without any actual money transfers taking place.
Reactions, apologies, and consequences at Norsk Tipping
The reaction was swift. Many users not only expressed their frustration and anger at the confusion, but also criticized the company's timely response to correct the error and publicly explain what happened. Some of those affected recounted how the news had radically changed their plans in just a few hours.
Tonje Sagstuen, then CEO of Norsk Tipping, appeared to accept responsibility and apologize to both users and authorities. "I am deeply sorry for having disappointed so many people and I fully understand the anger generated. The criticism we have received is fully justified. There have been failures here on several levels and this is my responsibility," Sagstuen said in a statement before presenting her irrevocable resignation, supported by the board of directors after an emergency meeting with the Norwegian Ministry of Culture.
Over the weekend, the company sent messages of apology to the approximately 47.000 affected —although some local media outlets report a significantly higher figure—. However, some users criticized the delay in officially reporting the situation and the lack of comfort in the explanations offered.
Authorities demand stricter controls after the scandal
The error raised alarm bells not only among customers, but also within the Norwegian government and regulatory agencies. Lubna Jaffery, Minister of Culture and Equality, did not hesitate to describe the incident as "totally unacceptable", recalling that Norsk Tipping holds the legal monopoly in the gaming sector and, so, has the utmost responsibility to ensure the security and reliability of its draws. Both the ministry and the Lottery Authority They have started an investigation to clarify what happened and study whether the company violated current regulations.
For its part, the board of directors of Norsk Tipping and its new management have promised to strengthen internal protocols and thoroughly review the IT systems to prevent a similar failure from happening againIn the words of Vice President Vegar Strand, "Our immediate goal is to regain lost customer trust and ensure maximum transparency in all our processes."
A history of technical problems and reliability concerns
This is not the first incident to call into question the credibility of the Norwegian public company. In recent months, Norsk Tipping has been the subject of several criticisms both by the authorities and by the users due to Recurring technical failures and problems in managing drawsThe entity has acknowledged that "Several significant errors" have occurred over the past year and processes are being reviewed to improve internal controls.
Meanwhile, the anecdote of the "almost millionaires for a day" spreads like wildfire in Norwegian society and in the international media, and has put the country's lottery system under scrutiny, where a computer glitch can turn thousands of citizens into supposedly lucky people overnight, if only for a few hours. This is reminiscent of the Jim Carrey film, "Blood Prince," where something similar happens.
This incident has The importance of having robust technological security protocols and effective communication mechanisms in lotteries and games of chance has been highlighted.It is essential that organizations in this sector strengthen their controls to prevent errors that could affect millions of people who place their trust and hope in these systems.
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