The gambling regulator of Norway has confirmed a NOK4.5 million (approx. €380,000) fine on Norsk Tipping for making an incorrect payout to a player.
The fine relates to a NOK25 million payout to a player on the state-owned gambling operator’s KongKasino online gaming website in March.
Under Norwegian gambling law, payouts from online casino games are capped at a maximum of NOK5.1 million, inclusive of jackpots.
The payout was in excess of the amount that the player expected to receive and only came to light after the player contacted the company to notify it of the error.
The case was investigated by the Norwegian gambling regulator earlier this year following a notification from Norsk Tipping.
“The incorrect payment is a serious breach of the Gambling Act,” said Atle Hamar, director of national gambling regulator Lotteritilsynet.
“This is a big wrongful payment. There is a relatively high chance that the money could have gone to a player with a gambling problem, or at risk of developing one, who would then have had a lot to play with.”
“Norsk Tipping did not have good enough security measures linked to prize payouts at KongKasino when the error occurred, and this is a serious system failure,” Hamar concluded. “They have subsequently introduced measures, and we have included that in the assessment of the [penalty] fee.”