The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has set a deadline for closing its consultation on the Destination of Regulatory Settlements on April 2, 2026, as well as noted progress in...
UK High Court dismisses £1.3B Allwyn National License case
The UK High Court has rejected Richard Desmond’s claims against the Gambling Commission’s decision to grant the fourth National License to Allwyn.
Desmond’s The New Lottery Company had challenged the 2022 tender results after it lost in the process, and the license was given to Allwyn. The New Lottery Company was removed from the list of candidates because of failures in mandatory pass/fail criteria, as noted by the UKGC.
However, Desmond filed a complaint, accusing the UKGC of inappropriately allowing to make changes to the transition timetable, but the High Court dismissed the argument and stated that there were no errors during the tender process.
The UKGC responded to the court’s decision:
“This is an important judgment for the future of The National Lottery that we welcome. This judgment makes clear that the Gambling Commission ran a fair and robust competition to award the Fourth National Lottery License, and that none of the contested changes to the License, in the course of its implementation, were substantial or contrary to the relevant procurement regulations.”
Allwyn added:
“The Gambling Commission ran a fair and lawful license competition, properly awarding the Fourth National Lottery License to Allwyn. This provides clarity and legal certainty, and our focus now is on delivering for players and increasing funding for good causes.”
Allwyn’s National Lottery contract will hold until 2034.
The merger between Allwyn and OPAP has been completed, creating the second biggest publicly listed operator globally, worth €16 billion.Under the deal, Allwyn has...
