Legal battle to run the National Lottery begins between Richard Desmond and UKGC

The court battle between billionaire Richard Desmond and the UKGC will begin this week to decide the license to run the National Lottery.

Northern & Shell and The New Lottery Company (TNLC), owned by Desmond, is suing the UK Gambling Commission for up to £1.3 billion in a battle over the license to run the National Lottery. The company claims that there were “manifest errors” in the process of deciding who runs the lottery.

This comes after Allwyn won the 10-year license to run the game in 2022, with its leadership beginning in 2024. Since then, Desmond has launched a series of legal challenges claiming that the bid competition itself was flawed (with the result pre-determined), and that Allwyn should have been disqualified because it breached strict rules to do with briefing the media during the process. The allegations also highlight that the commission was adjusted in the contract after Allwyn had been chosen, which Desmond’s team means should have initiated a rerun.

The claim is based on EU law and also highlights alleged conflicts of interest that affected the UKGC’s impartiality in making the decision. Desmond’s lawyers assert that Northern & Shell and TNLC wasted £17.5 million on the bid process to no avail, as well as losing out on up to £1.3 billion due to the commission changes.

Impact on the National Lottery

Any payout won from the legal battle would be a significant loss to the charities involved with the National Lottery, as the sum would need to be paid from the pot to fund charitable pursuits. In fact, the Guardian reports that if the payout is larger than the fund (which receives roughly £30 million a week from lottery sales), the cost would be passed onto the taxpayer.

Desmond has already rejected a settlement offer from the UKGC, thought to have been worth around £10 million.

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