Camelot’s technology partner has revived the legal battle for control of the UK National Lottery that seemed to have been brought to an end when Camelot agreed to the Czech Republic-based Allwyn gaming group’s takeover offer in November 2022.
Now, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is taken to court under European human rights laws by International Game Technology (IGT), which argues that the British gambling regulatory body’s decision to grant Allwyn the fourth operating permit for the National Lottery had cost it “marketable goodwill”. If the court sides with the Italian-owned company that turns the lottery ticket machines situated across supermarkets, newsagents and garages, this could lead to a damages award worth up to £600 million that would be payable from the good causes fund of the UK National Lottery.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, both Camelot and its technology partner challenged the country’s gambling regulatory body for its decision to award the fourth NL operating licence (due to start in February 2024) to Allwyn in court.
At the time, Camelot even announced that it intended to proceed with a separate claim for damages in case the appeal failed in court. And the appeal did fail. However, Camelot no longer sought to sue the UKGC after its owner – Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan – agreed to sell it to the new holder of the National Lottery operating licence for a rumoured amount of £100 million.
IGT Does Not Have Much of a Chance to Win the Court Action, Experts Believe
Analysts’ expectations that International Game Technology would also admit its defeat and would no longer pursue legal action against the UK Gambling Commillion, however, turned out inaccurate.
The gambling and lottery technology provider submitted a new legal claim against the country’s gambling watchdog right before the Christmas holidays, arguing that the UKGC had violated its rights under the Human Rights Act and Article 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Reportedly, the updated IGT claims contain a number of amendments.
As Article 1 of the ECHR discusses the rights of individuals, it seems that IGT is arguing that the decision of the Gambling Commission to give the National Lottery licence to Allwyn violates the rights of individuals by denying Camelot’s technology partner the ability to serve in a charitable capacity. If that is the case, experts believe that IGT will not have much of a legal foundation to sue the UKGC or win the lawsuit.
The latest actions of the company triggered harsh criticism, with several Members of Parliament attacking Camelot’s technology partner for its court action. One of International Game Technology’s critics, Ben Bradley, a member of the Conservative party and an MP for Mansfield, accused the gambling technology operator of targeting the good cause fund of the National Lottery, which is supposed to help some of the poorest and most disadvantaged communities across the country. Another Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye, Sally-Ann Hart, shared that it was completely unacceptable to put charity money raised for local projects and good causes at risk of being raided.
Currently, the UK National Lottery remains one of the largest lotteries on a global scale. It has raised more than £46 billion for a total of 670,000 good causes across the UK since it started operation in 1994.
Allwyn is expected to take over the operations of the National Lottery in the first quarter of 2024 and the process should not be delayed even in case IGT continues to pursue its legal challenge.
- Author
Olivia Cole
