Norwegian Authority Misses Hundreds of Tips Due to Technical Fault
Lottstift has revealed a significant glitch in its online tip submission system. From March 2024 to June 2025, a technical malfunction prevented tips submitted through its website from reaching the agency, potentially resulting in the loss of several hundred anonymous reports.
Fault Uncovered After Over a Year and a Quarter
Lottstift disclosed that tips sent via its online form had not been stored in its internal archive since March 2024. The issue was only identified in June 2025, raising concerns about the critical information that may have gone unnoticed. Atle Hamar, the Director of Lottstift, commented:
“We are worried that we may have missed important tips and hope that people will resend their information.”
He underscored the importance of public involvement in the agency’s enforcement activities:
“We are reliant on tips from the public, and people must have confidence that their reports are received. This is a serious error, and it went far too long before we discovered it.”
The fault affected only anonymous tips submitted via the online form. Tips sent through email, phone calls, or direct contact with the agency were unaffected. Over the last two months, the authority managed to recover 120 tips. The remaining reports have been automatically deleted in accordance with privacy regulations.
Read also: Spain’s Gambling Regulator Drafts 2026–2030 Safe Gambling Reforms and Revamps Advisory Council
“This means that several hundred tips may be lost, but we have no exact numbers. We will review this thoroughly and make the necessary changes to prevent a similar situation in the future.”
Lottstift has now corrected the issue and is encouraging anyone with critical information to resend their tips. Hamar reiterated the vital role of public cooperation:
“People must have confidence that the tips they send will be received and taken seriously. Getting tips is vital for us. Several of our enforcement cases start with a tip from the public.”
