Rival hits out at Lottery regulators over the extension of Camelot licence
A RIVAL firm has hit out at the likely extension of Camelot’s licence as the provider of the UK National Lottery.
Camelot has announced a plan to install thousands of new lottery terminals in rural areas in a bid to persuade the National Lottery Commission to extend its licence by five years.
The Commission says it is studying the proposal and has not yet made a decision on whether to extend the licence. However, industry watchers believe the Commission will accept the proposals and extend Camelot’s position as the only National Lottery organiser since the institution was formed.
Rival firm People’s Postcode Lottery says not putting the contract up for tender is bad both commercially and for the good causes the National Lottery promotes. Director Annemiek Hoogenboom said: “This is a social lottery but Camelot’s proposal to install more terminals is simply based on commercial reasons. There should not be this automatic extension of the licence.”
Camelot’s current ten-year licence is due to end in 2019, with the process for awarding the new licence beginning in 2015, although the commission says it can grant a licence extension. People’s Postcode Lottery co-founder Boudewijn Poelmann is also chairman of City A.M.