The Gambling Commission (GC) has initiated enforcement action against National Lottery licence holder Allwyn.
As detailed in the regulator’s annual report for 2024-25, the issue stems from Allwyn failing to deliver full functionality of the National Lottery product before an agreed upon deadline.
Allwyn assumed control of the National Lottery in February 2024, having been awarded the fourth licence by the GC in 2022.
The move saw Allwyn, which is owned by Czech billionaire Karel Komarek, become the first company other than Camelot to operate the lottery since its inception back in 1994.
As part of the deal, Allwyn had agreed with the GC that full functionality of the National Lottery would be achieved by February 2025.
However, the GC cited “delays in Allwyn achieving full implementation” by the legally binding deadline as the reason for proceeding with enforcement action.
In May, the GC said it was reviewing whether or not to take action, before confirming its plan of action in its annual report.
The report read: “The 4NL [Fourth National Lottery] Programme team have managed the competition and implementation oversight of 4NL within the [Gambling] Commission. The completion of the 4NL Competition Programme activities is aligned to Allwyn’s delivery of its application.
“This includes agreed upgrades to the systems, the website and mobile application, to enhance the user experience and ensure the National Lottery is fit for purpose for the duration of the licence and beyond.
“Allwyn did not deliver full functionality [being all elements of their application in the competition which they originally committed to deliver by licence start date] by February 2025 as it was contractually required to do and, as a consequence, an enforcement investigation, in line with the Fourth National Lottery Licence Regulatory Handbook, was initiated by the Commission and is ongoing.
“This process is separate from the day-to-day regulation of the National Lottery and any decision taken will be done so independently.”
Allwyn reportedly experienced significant tech-related difficulties after assuming control of the National Lottery licence, mainly attributed to switching suppliers from IGT to Scientific Games.
A report from The Telegraph in October likened the tech switchover to “trying to stick a Microsoft system on top of an Apple computer”.
Last December, Allwyn CEO Robert Chvátal insisted the tech migration would be completed in 2025.
After the GC awarded the National Lottery licence to Allwyn, an unsuccessful bidder in the form of The New Lottery Company issued a legal challenge to the regulator disputing the outcome of the bidding process.
The New Lottery Company’s parent company, Northern & Shell, owned by media tycoon Richard Desmond, filed the lawsuit in June 2024 to contest the decision to award the licence to Allwyn.
The Technology and Construction Court set the £1.3bn legal challenge for October 2025, allowing for full disclosure of evidence relating to the National Lottery contract and bidding process.
In reference to the upcoming trial, the GC report added: “There is active litigation against the Commission brought by The New Lottery Company (TNLC), one of the unsuccessful bidders for the 4NL licence.
“During the legal process to date, there have been additional legal hearings on a variety of issues, including rulings as a result of the inadvertent disclosure of documents by advisers working on behalf of the Gambling Commission, where those documents were privileged or partially privileged and were not intended for release as part of the Commission’s disclosure requirements.
“The Commission is robustly defending the claims and continues to work with its external lawyers to effectively manage the ongoing obligations up to trial.”
The Gambling Commission had no further comment to add beyond the information included in the report.
EGR has reached out to Allwyn for comment.
The post Gambling Commission commences enforcement action against Allwyn first appeared on EGR Intel.
Regulator opens disciplinary proceedings after the National Lottery licence holder “did not deliver full functionality” before contractual deadline in February 2025
The post Gambling Commission commences enforcement action against Allwyn first appeared on EGR Intel.