The recent Eurojackpot error incident at Norway's national gambling monopoly, Norsk Tipping, not only sparked strong public dissatisfaction but was also seen by industry experts as clear evidence of systemic failure in the national monopoly model. This scandal led to tens of thousands of Norwegian players being mistakenly informed of winning millions of kroner, exposing deep-seated issues such as lack of supervision and ambiguous responsibilities in cross-national lottery operations.
Eurojackpot, operated by 19 national monopoly agencies, lacks a unified supranational regulatory system. Each country manages independently without a common accountability mechanism, essentially making the system "self-regulated." On June 27, due to a calculation error by the Finnish coordinating party in the transmission of results—where the prize money was multiplied instead of divided by a certain coefficient—thousands of Norwegian players received messages of huge winnings, while the actual prize money was minuscule.
The response of Norsk Tipping further fueled public outrage: the error occurred on a Friday evening, yet the organization did not apologize to affected users until Monday, claiming "there was no time to notify players first." Public trust completely collapsed, and the company's CEO ultimately resigned, but Eurojackpot and Norsk Tipping continue to operate as usual, without substantial accountability.
Critics point out that monopoly agencies have long lacked effective external supervision and competition, being neither transparent nor accountable. Despite their self-proclaimed role as "guardians of responsible gambling," reality shows they rely more on political protection and avoid public scrutiny. Moreover, Eurojackpot's mechanism of continuously increasing jackpots is criticized for deliberately creating an illusion of "wealth for everyone," further weakening its credibility.
The industry advocates for a shift to a licensing system, allowing multiple operators to compete under clear, unified rules and subject to ongoing supervision and penalties, to truly implement responsibility and protect consumers. Recently, another incident occurred with Eurojackpot due to a "delay at the German control center" causing a delay in the draw, once again proving the pitfalls of self-regulation.
This scandal should prompt deep reflection: when 19 countries share profits but not responsibilities, does this monopoly model still hold validity? When the system collapses, only a thorough repair or complete replacement can truly safeguard public trust and the healthy development of the gambling market.
