The Norwegian Gambling Authority (NGA) has fined Norsk Tipping NOK46m (£3.4m) over Eurojackpot and Lotto draw errors that meant individual players had less chance of winning prizes.
The system error had been ongoing at Norsk Tipping since 2015, and as a result, players in cooperatives, gambling clubs and cooperative banks had a greater chance of winning than they should have.
Norsk Tipping was first made aware of the error in November 2024 but, according to the NGA, did not take steps to investigate further.
The state-owned operator was tipped off about the draw errors again on 24 January of this year.
However, Norsk Tipping carried out two draws, one on the 24 and one of the 28 January, before investigating the matter and identifying the issues two days later on 30 January.
The NGA described the lack of immediate intervention and action from the firm as “gross negligence”.
Norsk Tipping told the NGA it had uncovered the error on 31 January before submitting a report into the issue to the regulator on 7 February.
The NOK46m fine comes after the NGA handed Norsk Tipping NOK2.5m and NOK36m penalties for other failings, including payout errors and self-exclusion shortcomings.
The regulator has yet to rule on a punishment for Norsk Tipping after its prize draw error this summer meant thousands of players were informed they’d won significant sums.
A conversion error from euros to kroner actually meant players won far less than they’d been expecting, with the scandal making headlines across the world.
Atle Hamar, NGA director, said: “Players should be able to trust that Norsk Tipping’s games are safe and fair. The error itself is serious, and it is aggravating that it was not discovered until many years had passed.
“With the market position Norsk Tipping has, one [should] expect that such errors will be discovered and corrected immediately.
“Norsk Tipping has poor control over its games, and we have seen several examples of errors not being discovered until the consequences are major.
“Therefore, we want to have a sharp and thorough supervision of Lotto, Eurojackpot and Vikinglotto, which are the largest lottery games they have.”
The post Norsk Tipping handed NOK46m fine over historical lottery draw issues first appeared on EGR Intel.
Norwegian Gambling Authority approves penalty after it was uncovered that syndicates and cooperatives had a greater chance of winning than individual players
The post Norsk Tipping handed NOK46m fine over historical lottery draw issues first appeared on EGR Intel.