One of the largest gambling operators on the territory of Australia – Tabcorp – has joined the competition for the operation of the UK National Lottery at a time when the rivalry for a new licence is proceeding to the next round.
For the time being, Tabcorp, which has once co-owned Sun Bets as part of its assets, is the biggest lottery company in Australia. Reportedly, the operator has entered the bidding competition for the right to run the UK National Lottery.
Tabcorp is so far the latest high-profile gambling operator that is holding talks with Rothschild, the investment bank that had been entitled with the responsibility of finding the next company that is to run the National Lottery from 2023.
For the time being, there has been a bunch of other names that have been rumoured to be in the competition. Except for Camelot Group, reports have said that the media mogul Richard Desmond, Sir Richard Branson, the European lottery operators Francaise des Jeux, Sazka and Novamedia, the operator of the Dutch People’s Postcode Lottery, have been among the competitors for the operation rights.
The bidders had until January 22nd to provide their response in a consultation on running the initial offer for the UK National Lottery operation. The major gambling regulator in the country, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is set to review their responses. Then, the watchdog is expected to issue a rules-of-engagement-style document.
Several Large Groups Interested in Getting the Operating Licence for the National Lottery
As Casino Guardian reported, in July 2019, investment bankers from Rothschild & Co were recruited by the UKGC to choose the new operator of the UK National Lottery.
For the time being, it is the Camelot Group that has the right to run the National Lottery and holds a monopoly of its services. The company has been operating the UK National Lottery for twenty-five years, but it is existing operating licence is set to expire in 2023. Since then, strong competition for the rights to run the operations has been expected to emerge.
As it became clear at the time when Rothschild investment bankers were entitled with the responsibility to choose the new operator, the former owner of Channel 5 and Express, Richard Desmond, has revealed his interest in taking over the UK National Lottery operations.
In November 2019, the British multinational venture capital firm Virgin Group also confirmed its interest in becoming the National Lottery operator. The company that is under the lead of Sir Richard Branson, has revealed that it is willing to replace Camelot Group as the sole operator of the UK National Lottery.
A few years back, the National Lottery has been facing difficulties, due to the struggles following its declining ticket sales. Apart from that, there has been some controversy related to it, too, considering the enormous £1.2-million fine it faced by the gambling regulatory body in 2018 due to a series of failures that even included sending non-winning messages to British lottery players. The National Lottery has seen sales growth over the last two years, with record half-year sales announced back in November 2019.
- Author
Olivia Cole
