Norway fines Norsk Tipping $4.6 million over lottery errors

Norway’s gaming regulator has fined state-owned Norsk Tipping NOK 46 million ($4.6 million) after uncovering technical errors in Eurojackpot and Lotto draws that it said affected millions of players.

The Norwegian Lottery and Foundations Authority (Lottstift) said the problem, present since 2015, gave bulk and cooperative lottery orders a greater chance of winning than individual players. Norsk Tipping became aware of possible errors in November 2024 and was tipped off again in January, but only investigated after carrying out two more draws.

“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,” Lottstift Director Atle Hamar said.

Hamar added: “With the market position Norsk Tipping has, one can expect that such errors will be discovered and corrected immediately. This is careless and the threshold for investigating possible errors has been too high.”

The fine marks the third major sanction against Norsk Tipping in under a year. It previously faced a NOK 36 million penalty in March after self-excluded players were unable to block themselves, and a NOK 2.5 million fine in 2024 after a player mistakenly received NOK 25 million in winnings. A separate case involving erroneous text messages sent to around 30,000 Eurojackpot players in June remains under review.

“Norsk Tipping has poor control over its games, and we have seen several examples of errors not being discovered until the consequences are major,” Hamar said, adding that Lottstift would step up supervision of Lotto, Eurojackpot and Vikinglotto.

Carl Fredrik Stenstrøm, secretary general of the Norway Association for Online Gaming, urged tougher measures: “When neither the owner (Norway’s minister for culture), the chairperson, nor the CEO takes responsibility, the Gaming Authority must step in. The Gambling Act is clear: Norsk Tipping must operate responsibly and prevent harmful consequences. When legal breaches are repeated year after year, fines are no longer sufficient. The sanctions must be stronger.”

The mounting regulatory pressure comes as Norway debates the future of its gambling monopoly, while neighbouring Finland prepares to dismantle its own state-run model next year.