Commissioned by Norsk Tipping, auditing firm PwC has unveiled the core reasons behind a list of recent failures by the Norwegian operator.
Diving deep into Norsk Tipping’s biggest lottery games, Lotto, Vikinglotto, and Eurojackpot, PwC compiled its report by conducting interviews, gathering interviews, and organising workshops.
Crucial findings unveiled that the state-owned operator had placed “too much” focus on innovation, putting quality and control on the backburner. In addition, there wasn’t a clear structure when it came to management and distribution of responsibilities.
So far this year, Norsk Tipping went through a series of blunders that seriously affected customers – and at a time when the Norwegian monopoly model is at a crossroads.
One example dates back to April where a superdraw error led to 52 million-dollar prizes being incorrectly drawn by 52 individuals. Another case from September led to a NOK 46m (€3.9m) penalty from the regulator due to technical errors found with Lotto and Eurojackpot.
The report was welcomed by Sylvia Brustad, Chairwoman of Norsk Tipping, who said: “It shows where we need to improve, but also that important steps were taken over seven months ago.
“The board takes this very seriously, and will follow the work closely going forward. We are confident that the company has learned from its mistakes and that the improvement work will lead to a new and stronger Norsk Tipping in the future.”
PwC did however acknowledge that operator management has taken action to address the issues, with measures undertaken to strengthen the quality of products as early as February of this year.
The auditing firm is still awaiting the results of the regulatory investigations in order to synchronise all findings and establish a complete guideline on the necessary actions needed for Norsk Tipping to take.
Vegar Strand, Norsk Tipping CEO, added: “We take the report very seriously, and it is important to once again apologize to our customers who have been affected by all the errors.
“Although much works with us, it shows that we have had too many vulnerabilities. We are cleaning up. Every stone must be turned over to ensure that we both learn from the errors and build a new and better Norsk Tipping.”
