A Norwegian man experienced a devastating emotional rollercoaster after being incorrectly told he had won a life-changing lottery jackpot, only for the prize to disappear minutes later due to a major technical error.
The Dream That Seemed to Come True
Ole Fredrik Sveen, a regular lottery player from Norway, had just been joking with his partner about needing a lottery win to afford a holiday home while watching a Greek sunset in June. Remarkably, later that same day, he received a text message from the state-owned lottery operator, Norsk Tipping, stating he had won big on the Eurojackpot draw.
Logging into the lottery app in a state of shock, Ole saw a notification confirming a win of 1.3 million Norwegian kroner, approximately £97,000. He described his heart skipping a beat and feeling light-headed, believing his long-held dream had finally arrived. Overcome, he immediately phoned his mother to share the incredible news.
The Crushing Reality of a Decimal Error
However, the euphoria was short-lived. Within about fifteen minutes, a sense of doubt crept in. Ole decided to check the winning numbers against his ticket and discovered he had only matched two main numbers and one bonus number. "My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach," he recalled. "There was no way I could have won so much money."
His suspicions were soon confirmed by news reports. Norsk Tipping had made a catastrophic mistake while converting prize money from euros into Norwegian kroner. Instead of dividing winners' shares by 100, the system had multiplied them by 100. This meant Ole's actual winnings were closer to £10, a far cry from the near six-figure sum he had briefly celebrated.
Apologies and Resignation After Breach of Trust
The error affected thousands of players across Norway, with many wrongly believing they had become millionaires. The fallout was severe for the lottery company. Tonje Sagstuen, the CEO of Norsk Tipping, issued a profound apology, stating she was "terribly sorry" for disappointing so many and understood the public anger.
Accepting full responsibility for the "breach of trust," Sagstuen resigned from her position the very next day. She acknowledged that the criticism directed at the company was entirely justified. For Ole and his partner, the incident ended in tears and anger, a stark reminder of how quickly fortune can be promised and snatched away by a simple digital glitch.
