Wednesday 11 May 2022 05:53 PM Camelot will cease to exist if it loses National Lottery licence, it claims to ... trends now
Lottery company Camelot claim they will cease to exist if the right to stage the draw is handed to Czech-owned newcomer Allwyn Entertainment, the High Court heard.
The Gambling Commission gave the fourth national lottery licence to Allwyn earlier this year as the ‘preferred bidder’, triggering a legal challenge from Camelot UK Ltd.
The regulator insists Allwyn should be issued with the licence after it won the National Lottery licence competition in August 2020.
The regulator is applying to ‘lift the automatic suspension’ preventing the final award to Allwyn at a two day ‘balance of convenience’ hearing.
The National Lottery has been operated by Camelot Group since the first draw in November 1994, however the Gambling Commission has gone to High Court so Allwyn Entertainment can sign a 10-year licence to run the lottery
If the ban is lifted Allwyn can go ahead with its plan to take over the lottery by February 2024.
Formerly known as Sazka, Europe’s largest operator has fended off three competitors to operate the draw after battling with the Canadian owned Camelot, Italy’s Sisal and media tycoon Richard Desmond.
The company currently operates lotteries in the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Greece and Cyprus.
Sarah Hannaford, QC, representing the Gambling Commission, said Camelot UK was a Special Vehicle Company (SPV) set up solely to run the UK National Lottery in 1994.
‘The licence that it has entered into allows it only to carry out the UK National Lottery and ancillary activities if there is agreement,’ the barrister said.
Ms Hannaford argued that losing procurement, as Camelot UK has, is a ‘hazard’ of contracting with a public body such as the Gambling Commission.
‘Setting yourself up as an SPV and then saying there is an existential threat simply does not work as a matter of law in my submission.
‘Camelot UK took a decision to operate as they did and it was perfectly foreseeable that they might lose a contract.’
She said the ‘only legal loss’ to the current licence holder was a loss of profit and damages were ‘clearly’ a sufficient remedy to that loss.
Hertfordshire-based Camelot (headquarters above) filed a High Court claim against the Gambling Commission in March, in an effort to retain its UK bidding rights
Formerly known as Sazka, Allwyn is Europe’s largest operator and has fended off three competitors to operate the UK lottery draw after battling with the Canadian-owned Camelot, Italy’s Sisal and media tycoon Richard Desmond.
Two other companies have issued claims against the Gambling Commission - Camelot Global, a group Camelot UK belongs to, and IGT, who provides the lottery tech to Camelot.
They were both sub-contractors of Camelot UK in relation to the National Lottery licence.
Both companies have allegedly claimed that they suffered or will suffer loss as a result of Camelot UK losing the UK National Lottery licence.
‘Camelot Global gets nowhere near providing cogent evidence of financial loss,’ Ms Hannaford said.
‘IGT is a massive global business and the UK lottery is frankly a very small part of it. It has a lot of fingers in a lot of lottery pies.
‘There is absolutely no doubt that damages are an adequate remedy for IGT.’
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