Rival lottery companies are preparing for a legal challenge in case, as expected, the current holder of the UK’s National Lottery operating licence – Camelot – is once again awarded the contract to run one of the oldest gambling services in the country for a fourth term. According to them, such a decision would discriminate against new participants that could potentially enter the sector.
Industry insiders have noted that no matter which company receives the permit to operate the National Lottery, the decision would be challenged in court, as this is one of the largest public contracts in the UK.
As Casino Guardian recently reported, Camelot has been rumoured to be back in the leading position for the UK National Lottery operating permit. However, if the company succeeds in getting the NL licence for the fourth time, then the competitors will certainly focus a legal challenge against the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) under the claims that the system unfairly favours Camelot as the incumbent. Should Camelot be truly given the right to operate the UK National Lottery for one more term, it would have run the service for almost 40 years by the end of the fourth licence period.
These concerns have also been shared by some Members of Parliament, according to whom the operation of the lottery should be subject to competition.
Bidding Process for National Lottery’s Licence Should Be Fair and Transparent, MPs Say
The Financial Times revealed some information about a document showing that a 15% “solution risk factor” is allocated to each of the competitors’ business plans.
According to one of the members of the House of Commons culture committee, Giles Watling, a 15% risk quotient could have a disproportionately heavy impact on new applicants, which would provide Camelot with an advantage over any of the other candidates for the
National Lottery’s operating licence. Mr Watling further noted that the rest of the bidders for the contract had established records in running lottery operations in other countries, saying that every one of the candidates should be given equal chances to start, so the competition is fair and transparent.
Culture secretary Nadine Dorries has yet to receive a recommendation from the country’s gambling regulatory body, the UK Gambling Commission. After the UKGC makes a decision, ministers are set to be informed.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, the UK gambling watchdog is expected to inform the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) of its preferred bidder by the end of the month. An official announcement on the matter is expected to be made in March 2022, while the operating licence is to be awarded to its new holder in February 2024.
Currently, there are four competitors for the permit to run the UK National Lottery, including Camelot. The rest of the bidders are the Italian gambling group Sisal, the operator of the Czech lottery, Allwyn, as well as Northern and Shell of the British media magnate Richard Desmond. The competition, which has been among the most tightly controlled ones by the UKGC, constitutes the most transparent bidding process since the National Lottery of the UK started operation in 1994. So far, little has been actually revealed about the bidding process for the NL operating permit, which has always drawn much criticism because of the limited publicity of the bidding process.
- Author
Daniel Williams
