A major blunder by Norway’s state-owned lottery operator, Norsk Tipping, led thousands of hopeful players to believe they had become overnight millionaires, only for it to be revealed as a technical error.

On Friday, the gambling firm mistakenly notified “several thousand” Eurojackpot winners that they had won substantially inflated sums. While the company did not disclose the exact number of affected individuals, it later confirmed the payouts were calculated incorrectly due to a currency conversion error.

At the heart of the mistake was a miscalculation in converting Eurocents into Norwegian kroner.

Instead of dividing by 100 to reflect the correct value, the system erroneously multiplied the amounts by 100 leading to dramatically overstated winnings.

Norsk Tipping clarified that the correct prize figures were posted by Saturday evening, and no inaccurate payments had been processed. Despite this, the incident sparked public outrage and prompted a swift response from the company’s top leadership.

CEO Tonje Sagstuen issued a public apology and stepped down from her position a day after the mishap.

In a statement, Sagstuen expressed deep regret, acknowledging the frustration and disappointment among customers who believed they had won life-changing amounts.

"I’ve received messages from people who were already planning holidays, home renovations, or even buying property," she said. "I’m truly sorry. I understand the criticism and it’s deserved."

Among those affected was a woman in the middle of refurbishing her home, who told national broadcaster NRK she thought she had won 1.2 million kroner (approximately 15.4 million), only to discover her actual prize was a fraction of that.

The incident prompted an emergency meeting between Norsk Tipping’s board and the Ministry of Culture, which oversees the company’s operations. Following the meeting, Sagstuen announced her resignation, taking full responsibility for the oversight.

“This failure occurred at multiple levels and that’s my responsibility. While I’m saddened to leave, I trust the company will implement the necessary improvements,” she said. Sagstuen had led the company since September 2023 and had been with Norsk Tipping since 2014.

Culture and Equality Minister Lubna Jaffery condemned the error, stressing the need for stricter internal controls. "Such mistakes are unacceptable," she said, especially given Norsk Tipping's exclusive license to operate gaming services in Norway.

The company acknowledged a pattern of recent failings, noting that it had dealt with multiple technical issues over the past year and faced criticism from both regulators and users.

Norsk Tipping admitted the scrutiny was "justified" and pledged to strengthen its operational safeguards moving forward.