Richard Desmond’s latest effort to revive litigation over the fourth National Lottery licence being awarded to Allywn has been rejected, with the Court of Appeal upholding the 2026 High Court decision in favour of the Gambling Commission (GC).
Pan-European lottery operator Allwyn fended off competition in March 2022 from Desmond’s The New Lottery Company (TNLC), Camelot and Flutter-owned Italian operator Sisal to secure the 10-year contract.
That decision was disputed by British publishing group Northern & Shell and its subsidiary TNLC who alleged the GC “miscalculated” the scores during the bidding process.
Desmond also argued the GC provided the Athens-listed operator with “significant assistance” in its bid, mounting the legal challenge in June 2024.
Last April, the High Court rejected the case and ruled in favour of Britain’s regulator. And now the Court of Appeal has also waved away the TNLC’s appeal on three grounds.
It was concluded that TNLC should not be allowed to raise a new legal argument that has already been ruled out by the High Court and that the chances of success were “vanishingly small”.
It was also noted the company suffered no loss in practical terms, according to a statement released by the GC.
A GC spokesperson said: “This is an important decision for the operation of The National Lottery and one that we welcome.
“The Gambling Commission ran a fair and robust competition to award the fourth National Lottery licence and that none of the contested changes to the licence, in the course of its implementation, were substantial or contrary to the relevant procurement regulations.
“The decision gives resounding support to good causes by enabling Allwyn, with oversight from the Commission, to continue with their plans for investment in The National Lottery without further distraction.”
Allwyn assumed control of the National Lottery in February 2024, thereby ending Camelot’s 30-year run operating the lottery since its inception in 1994.
To ensure a smooth transition, Allwyn agreed in November 2022 to Camelot UK Lotteries for an estimated £100m from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board.
Camelot and its technology partner, IGT, also took Allwyn to court over the operator being the preferred applicant, though Camelot withdrew its case in September 2022, while IGT did the same in January 2024.
In March, the GC confirmed to EGR that a probe into Allwyn was ongoing after the company was unable to deliver full functionality of the product by February 2025 – a condition of its licence.
Allwyn interim chief technology officer Brett Cross told EGR earlier this month that the tech overhaul The National Lottery underwent was “monstrous” in size.
The GC said the National Lottery has raised £53bn for more than 680,000 good causes.
Earlier this week, the regulator announced that Sarah Fox is to be seconded from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to join the GC executive team, with part of her role overseeing regulation of the National Lottery.
The post Court dismisses Richard Desmond’s latest UK National Lottery appeal first appeared on EGR Intel.
Gambling Commission welcomes decision after judge finds The New Lottery Company’s chances of success were “vanishingly small”
The post Court dismisses Richard Desmond’s latest UK National Lottery appeal first appeared on EGR Intel.