Courtroom showdown over fate of lottery

THE gambling regulator will next week insist that it should be allowed to push ahead with issuing a new licence for the National Lottery, despite a legal challenge from current operator Camelot.

A two-day “balance of convenience” hearing is scheduled to start on Wednesday in which the Gambling Commission will ask judges for permission to sign a 10-year National Lottery licence with Allwyn Entertainment.

Allwyn, formerly known as Sazka, was selected as “preferred bidder” for the country’s biggest public sector contract in a hard-fought tender earlier this year after promising a sharp increase in the amount of money raised for good causes.

Camelot, which has run the National Lottery since 1994, has launched legal proceedings in an attempt to overturn the decision.

Typically, such a challenge would prevent the Birmingham-based regulator from formally appointing the Czech company.

The Camelot contract expires in February 2024, and it is feared that there may not be time for a handover if legal proceedings drag on. The commission is asking for permission to award the contract immediately as a result.

Camelot opposes the commission’s request and is understood to be instead pushing for its current licence to be extended for up to two years while hearings continue.

If judges side with the regulator, Camelot’s hopes of overturning the decision to pick Allwyn will be largely extinguished, well-placed sources say.

Camelot would instead be expected to seek an estimated £500m in damages – money that might have to come from the lottery’s pot for good causes.

However, if the High Court sides with Camelot to delay the signing of the contract, sources close to the Gambling

Commission and Allwyn claim that preparations to hand over the National Lottery will be disrupted.

Dame Dianne Thompson, the former Camelot chief, this week wrote to Marcus Boyle, the chairman of the Gambling Commission, as well as Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary, saying the contract with Allwyn should not be signed until the legal process is completed.

The “balance of convenience” hearing next week will only consider the arguments for and against the regulator signing its contract with Allwyn.

Hearings on whether the commission made the right decision are to begin in October.

A spokesman for the Gambling Commission said: “In order to protect the integrity of the process, we will not be able to discuss the specifics until litigation has concluded.”

Camelot and Allwyn both declined to comment.