### Major Lottery Error Leaves Thousands in Norway Disappointed In a significant blunder, Norway's state-owned lottery operator, Norsk Tipping, mistakenly informed approximately 47,000 players that they had won substantial prizes in the Eurojackpot. The error, attributed to a currency conversion mistake, led many to believe they had become millionaires overnight. Norsk Tipping has since issued an apology, clarifying that no incorrect payouts were made, but the incident has left many players feeling disheartened and confused about their lottery status [https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/warning-households-whove-been-sent-31959432][https://nypost.com/2025/06/30/world-news/lottery-company-sent-inaccurate-notifications-of-massive-winnings-to-thousands-in-norway]. ### Breakdown of the Incident and Its Implications 1. **Nature of the Error**: - A coding mistake led to the inflation of prize amounts, causing players to receive notifications of winnings that were significantly higher than they actually were [https://www.cp24.com/news/world/2025/07/01/thousands-in-norway-mistakenly-told-they-won-big-on-lottery]. 2. **Scope of Impact**: - Approximately 47,000 individuals were affected by this error, leading to widespread disappointment across the country [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/30/norway-lottery-error-apology]. 3. **Company Response**: - Norsk Tipping has publicly apologized for the mistake and reassured players that no incorrect payouts were made. The CEO of the company resigned following the incident, indicating the seriousness of the error [https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/world-news/lottery-error-sees-thousands-told-31957286][https://finnoexpert.com/thousands-in-norway-told-they-won-up-to-millions-in-lottery-error]. ### Supporting Evidence of the Incident - **Number of Notifications Sent**: 47,000 erroneous notifications were sent to players [https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3316430/47000-winning-lottery-tickets-norway-turn-out-be-costly-conversion-mistake]. - **Nature of the Error**: The mistake involved multiplying Eurojackpot winnings by 100 instead of dividing by 100 during the currency conversion from Euro cents to Norwegian kroner [https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/thousands-of-norwegians-mistakenly-told-they-won-millions-in-lottery]. - **Public Reaction**: Many players expressed their disappointment and confusion, with some initially celebrating what they thought were life-changing wins [https://thenightly.com.au/world/thousands-of-lottery-players-mistakenly-told-they-had-won-big-in-76-million-jackpot-c-19209109]. ### Conclusion and Key Takeaways **The lottery error in Norway serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of accuracy in automated systems.** 1. **Error Origin**: A coding mistake led to inflated prize notifications, affecting 47,000 players. 2. **Company Accountability**: Norsk Tipping has taken responsibility, issuing an apology and seeing leadership changes. 3. **Public Sentiment**: The incident has caused significant disappointment among players who were misled about their winnings. This situation highlights the critical need for robust checks in automated systems to prevent such costly errors in the future [https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/lottery-apologizes-after-thousands-mistakenly-told-they-won-millions-3220799].