Last week the United Kingdom Gambling Commission issued a statement announcing the likelihood of Czech lottery company Allwyn taking over the reins of the National Lottery from Camelot after nearly three decades. As reported by the Daily Telegraph over the weekend Camelot is to launch a legal court challenge against the UKGC’s decision to announce Allwyn as the National Lottery’s new operator. The UKGC ‘broke the law’ according to Camelot after ‘changing the rules’ of the competition after Camelot finished top in the initial scoring system ahead of Allwyn in the bidding process. 
UKGC Allegedly Changed the Rules
Initially, the UKGC placed a 15% risk factor when assessing the bids but later removed this from the rules of the competition. Allwyn won the bidding process by declaring to donate much more funds to good causes, Camelot is looking to overturn the decision. In a statement last week the UKGC said, “Allwyn has committed to investing in the National Lottery that is expected to deliver growth and innovation across the National Lottery’s products and channels, resulting in increased contributions since 1994, opening the path to a challenge from the current licensee.
More For Good Cause
According to Allwyn, around £38bn will be dedicated to good causes over a ten-year period, which seems unusually high. The figure quoted is £7bn short of the contributions Camelot has made since 1994 and a starting point in the challenge for the current license. However, Camelot Chairman Nigel Railton expressed disappointment after the operator produced ‘record breaking’ results in the third license period. He said, “I’m incredibly disappointed by today’s announcement, but we still have a critical job to do – as our current license runs until February 2024. We’re now carefully reviewing the Gambling Commission’s evaluation before deciding our next steps.”