The colossal error stemmed from a currency conversion fault, where prize amounts were multiplied by 100 instead of being correctly converted from euro cents to Norwegian kroner. This resulted in “excessively high” prize notifications being sent to a significant number of players.

The elation for the supposed winners was short-lived. By Saturday evening, Norsk Tipping had rectified the error and displayed the correct, much smaller, prize amounts. The company confirmed that no incorrect pay-outs had been made, BBC reports.

In the wake of the fiasco, Norsk Tipping’s chief executive, Tonje Sagstuen, resigned from her position on Saturday. “I am terribly sorry that we have disappointed so many, and I understand that people are angry with us,” she stated, acknowledging the “breach of trust”.

Ms Sagstuen revealed she had received messages from individuals who had already started making plans to purchase apartments, renovate their homes, or go on holiday.

One affected player told the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that she had been notified of a 1.2 million kroner win (c. £87,000), only to discover her actual prize was a mere fraction of that sum.

The incident prompted an emergency meeting between the Norsk Tipping board and the Ministry of Culture, which oversees the company’s operations. Culture and Equality Minister Lubna Jaffery deemed such mistakes unacceptable, particularly for a company holding exclusive gaming rights in the country.

This event is the latest in a series of issues for Norsk Tipping, which has faced criticism in recent months for other “serious errors” and technical problems. The company acknowledged that the criticism from both the regulator and its customers was “justified”.