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The spotlight is on Norsk Tipping as Tonje Sagstuen steps down from her role as the chief executive officer. An unfortunate human error following the Eurojackpot draw on Friday resulted in the publication of inaccurate lottery results. The chief executive officially resigned from her role on the following Saturday. This comes after 11 years of dedication as the CEO of Norsk Tipping. During the process of her resignation, the company commended Sagstuen for her hard work and positive impact.
The false prize amounts significantly impacted more than 41,000 Norwegian gamblers. Norsk Tipping inaccurately stated that the prize amounts were 10,000 times too high while simultaneously informing 16,000 players via inaccurate push notifications. The company has since proceeded to contact individual players while releasing a formal public apology. Unfortunately, some individuals had already initiated plans for new apartments, renovations, and holidays. The error marks the third major scandal for the company in the year 2025.
Before stepping down, Tonje Sagstuen had this to say in a statement: “As a manager, it has been my responsibility to handle the errors that have occurred, and it has been very gratifying to see how a united Norsk Tipping has responded to the challenges and worked day and night to solve them.” The director of strategy, analysis, and business development, Vegar Strand, has since stepped in to replace Sagstuen as the new CEO.
The Norwegian Gambling Authority Approaches the Matter
Norsk Tipping declared that the error was made during the process of converting euro cents to Norwegian kroner. Fortunately, the company observed the error shortly after the prize amounts were released. The company is performing an in-depth analysis and putting measures in place to prevent the recurrence of similar mistakes.
The company has received heat from individual gamblers as well as the Norwegian Gambling Authority’s minister of culture. Lubna Jaffery, the Norwegian minister of culture had this to say about the matter: “We take note of Tonje Sagstuen’s departure. As I have said, Norsk Tipping is completely dependent on having the trust of the people. The exclusive model depends on that. The ministry will continue to follow up with the board, such mistakes should not happen and we expect the board to work actively to improve control routines.”
The Acting CEO Steps In
The new CEO, Vegar Strand, has stated:
“We have greatly disappointed our customers and take full responsibility for cleaning up. Such mistakes are serious for a company that is supposed to manage the trust of Norwegians.
The work of rebuilding trust has the highest priority going forward.”
In the apology sent to customers, Strand expressed his understanding that customers are disappointed.
“On Friday evening, thousands of Norwegians were mistakenly told that they had won a large prize in Eurojackpot. This was an error that affected many and which we take very seriously.
We deeply regret what has happened and, on behalf of us at Norsk Tipping, I would like to apologise to everyone who was affected by this. We are incredibly sorry to have disappointed so many.
Know that we are now working intensively to ensure that this type of error does not happen again.”
Source – igamingbusiness.com
