A Norwegian lottery company on Monday apologised to 47,000 crestfallen gamblers who were mistakenly told they had won huge sums in a lottery, the firm blaming a currency conversion error.

State-owned gambling group Norsk Tipping said they had published incorrect prize amounts after a Eurojackpot draw on Friday because of an error converting from euro cents to Norwegian kroner.

The winnings had been multiplied by 100 instead of being divided by 100, the company said.

Among the disappointed was Ole Fredrik Sveen, who was on holiday in Greece when he received a message from Norsk Tipping that he had won 1.2 million kroner ($119,000).

READ ALSO:My Husband Starved Me, Beat, Left Me Stark Naked After Tearing My Clothes, Woman Tells Court

“I thought: ‘Wow, is it finally my turn? Could it be true?’ I go onto the Norsk Tipping website, and there it says in black and white: ‘Congratulations, you have won!’,” Sveen told public broadcaster NRK on Monday.

In reality, he had won 125 kroner ($12).

On Monday, Sveen and the 47,000 others received apologies by text message from Norsk Tipping for the snafu.

“The apology was a poor consolation. They should have sent it out after the mistake, not today,” he said.

The Lottery Authority said Monday it had launched a review to determine if gambling laws had been broken, and Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery called the error “totally unacceptable”.

READ ALSO:Nigerians React As Police Allegedly Seal PDP National Secretariat

The firm’s chief executive Tonje Sagstuen resigned on Saturday after the scandal, leaving acting chief executive Vegar Strand to apologise on Monday.

Strand said his company’s state ownership made the mistake particularly problematic, noting that the firm was “entirely dependent on the trust of the population”.

“We have deeply disappointed our customers and take full responsibility for rectifying the situation. Such errors are serious for a company that is supposed to manage the trust of Norwegians,” Strand said.

“The work to rebuild trust again has the highest priority going forward.”

AFP

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has renewed his public criticism of United States President Donald Trump, taking aim at the administration’s controversial “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which recently cleared a critical hurdle in the Senate, TIMES reported.

In a post on X on Saturday, Musk denounced the 940-page legislative package as economically harmful, claiming it would severely damage emerging industries while supporting outdated sectors.

“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,” he wrote to his more than 220 million followers.

He further described the legislation as “utterly insane and destructive.”

READ ALSO:Elon Musk Unveils 29 Additional Starlink Satellites

The senate narrowly voted 51–49 to advance the bill on Saturday night, following extended negotiations among Republicans. Vice President J.D Vance was present to cast a tie-breaking vote, though it was ultimately not required.

Musk, who once served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency under Trump, left the administration after a high-profile fallout and has since emerged as one of the bill’s fiercest opponents.

He described the measure as “political suicide” for Republicans and warned that it would raise the national debt ceiling by $5 trillion — the largest such increase in US history. “America is in the fast lane to debt slavery,” he added.

Responding in an interview aired Sunday on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, Trump attempted to defuse the tension. “I haven’t spoken to him much, but I think Elon is a wonderful guy,” he said. Trump also suggested Musk’s frustration stemmed from disagreements over recent changes to electric vehicle mandates.

READ ALSO:Elon Musk Unveils 29 Additional Starlink Satellites

Musk’s opposition to the bill is not new. Earlier in June, he urged Americans to contact their representatives, calling the legislation a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill.”

Despite the bill’s advancement in the Senate, it faces continued resistance. Senate Democrats have slowed proceedings by demanding the entire bill be read aloud in protest.

“If Senate Republicans won’t tell the American people what’s in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

The United Kingdom recorded its fastest economic growth in over a year during the first quarter of 2025, boosted by a surge in home buying ahead of a property tax deadline and increased manufacturing activity in anticipation of new United States tariffs, Reuters reported.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the economy expanded by 0.7 percent between January and March, the strongest quarterly growth since early 2024.

“UK gross domestic product is estimated to have grown by 0.7% in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025, unrevised from the first estimate,” it said on X on Monday.

The figure confirms earlier estimates and marks a sharp contrast to the 0.1 percent growth seen in the final quarter of last year.

READ ALSO:Family Of Five Killed In Iranian Missile Strike After Fleeing Ukraine For Safety In Israel

Reuters reported that ONS also revised March’s growth upward to 0.4 percent, from an initial 0.2 percent. However, the economic boost may prove short-lived. Preliminary data already shows a 0.3 percent contraction in April, partly due to one-off disruptions.

The Bank of England projects a more modest 0.25 percent growth for the second quarter. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves is hoping the uptick will continue, easing pressure to introduce further tax hikes as the government works to meet its fiscal goals.

The strong first quarter was driven in part by a rush of property transactions before the March 31 expiration of a homebuyer tax break. Household spending rose by 0.4 percent, revised up from 0.2 percent, fueled by expenditures on housing, household goods, services, and transport.

To finance this spending, households dipped into their savings, though the savings ratio remains robust at 10.9 percent.

READ ALSO:UK ‘Was Informed Of US Strikes’ On Iran, Plans Evacuating Briton Out of Israel

Manufacturers also ramped up output early in the year, anticipating new import tariffs planned by US President Donald Trump. Some of these proposed tariffs have since been suspended, easing business uncertainty.

Chief economist at RSM UK, Thomas Pugh, noted that earlier weakness in consumer spending and hiring was likely a temporary response to tax changes and trade uncertainty.

“Now that uncertainty has started to recede, consumer confidence is rebounding, and business surveys suggest the worst of the labour market pain is behind us,” he said.

A recent survey indicates that employer confidence in the UK has reached a nine-year high, with optimism growing about the economic outlook. The Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates twice more this year, potentially bolstering consumer spending.