Camelot Drops UK National Lottery Legal Challenge

THE GUARDIAN: Outgoing operator appealed against decision to award licence to its rival Allwyn from February 2024

Camelot decided not to proceed with the national lottery appeal after it emerged that more than £1bn for good causes could be lost over its legal action. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA
Camelot has dropped its appeal against a legal ruling over the handover of its licence to operate the UK’s national lottery to its rival Allwyn.

Camelot, which has run the national lottery since it was launched in 1994, said it had withdrawn its legal challenge that would have resulted in it going to the court of appeal next week. It added that it would “now cooperate with Allwyn and the Gambling Commission to facilitate an orderly transition to the fourth licence”.

This means that Allwyn, owned by the billionaire Czech entrepreneur Karel Komárek, who made his fortune in sectors including oil and gas, moves a step closer to running the lottery from February 2024.

Camelot decided not to proceed with the appeal after it emerged that more than £1bn for good causes could be lost over its legal action if it delayed the handover of the £6.4bn contract, as reported by the Observer. » | Julia Kollewe | Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Related article here.

Good Causes Could Lose £1bn as Camelot Sues over ‘Unlawful’ National Lottery Licence

THE OBSERVER: UK Lotto operator challenges the Gambling Commission’s decision to award £6.4bn contract to its rival, Allwyn

More than £1bn for good causes could be lost over a legal action alleging the new licence to run the national lottery was awarded unlawfully, according to court filings seen by the Observer.

Camelot, which operated the national lottery for nearly three decades, is seeking to reverse the decision to hand the licence to its rival Allwyn. It will go to court later this month in an appeal to delay the handover of the £6.4bn contract. The case threatens to embroil the lottery in its biggest controversy since it was launched in 1994 – and there is even a risk the lottery will be suspended for the first time in its history.

The Gambling Commission warns in a legal submission obtained by the Observer: “In the worst scenario, there will be a gap in service between the expiry of the third licence on 31 January 2024 and the commencement of the fourth licence. The commission anticipates there will be an overall shortfall of payment to good causes of at least £1bn and, in the case of an interregnum, considerably more.’ » | Jon Ungoed-Thomas | Sunday, September 4, 2022