National Lottery faces possible suspension as Camelot legal battle drags on
The UK gambling regulator has warned that the National Lottery could be suspended for the first time ever.
It comes as Camelot pushes forward with its legal battle against the Gambling Commission’s decision to award Allwyn with the lucrative government contract back in March.
In court submissions seen by The Telegraph, the commission have warned the court action may delay the handover of the licence, which is schedule for February 2024.
In High Court evidence, the Commission’s executive director John Tanner said that if there isn’t a sufficient time for a pass over, there would be a “real risk that there will be a period when the National Lottery does not operate at all.”
In contrast, the former boss of lottery operator Camelot urged the gambling commission to delay the transfer of the firm’s licence to new operator Allwyn, arguing that the costly legal battle could cut resources for good causes.
“The transition timeline would remain unaltered, the legal case could be properly heard and – critically – any risk of a massive bill for good causes would be removed at a stroke”, Dame Dianne Thompson wrote in a letter to the commission earlier this month.
The kernel of Camelot’s challenge focuses on the scoring system and ‘risk factor’ applied to judging the candidates for the lottery licence.
The voting essentially meant that Allwyn’s ambitious but potentially more risky business plan was able to score the jackpot prize.
Allwyn’s key pitch was to drop ticket prices and increase the amount of money going towards good causes and UK sporting activities.
In a court submission, Camelot said that awarding the fourth licence to Allwyn would effectively put Camelot “out of business”.