The UK Gaming Commission (UKGC) has named Allwyn Entertainment as its preferred candidate for the National Lottery license from 2024.
On Friday, the Commission was notified by the incumbent National Lottery operator Camelot UK that its treatment of the key phases of the license would be appealed in the High Court.
Camelot Chief Executive Nigel Railton stated that the commission had “failed to give a satisfactory answer” as to why it rejected his bid which achieved the highest rating during the scoring phase of the bid.
For Camelot, the disclosure that the Commission had changed the rules of its evaluation phase to favor Allwyn’s proposal was worrying. According to reports, the UKGC originally placed a risk factor of 15% in the evaluation of proposals, but according to Camelot, it was removed from the process.
Closing on Friday, the Commission notified the media that it had received Camelot’s legal proceedings regarding the bidding process.
“We regret Camelot’s decision to initiate legal proceedings following the result of a highly successful bid for the fourth National Lottery license,” read the UKGC statement.
“The bidding and our assessment were carried out fairly and lawfully, in accordance with our statutory duties, and we are confident that a court would reach that conclusion.”
Standing by its administration’s side, the Commission highlighted that, from start to finish, it applied all possible measures to ensure a level playing field for all competing parties.
Following its decision, UKGC said it will work with Camelot to ensure a “smooth and timely transition to the next license, for the benefit of participants and good causes”.
The statement ended by saying, “These procedures will not help with this, but we trust that Camelot will honor its obligations as the current licensee to cooperate in this transition, and we will continue to use available tools to facilitate this process.”
“In order to protect the integrity of the case, we will not be able to discuss the specifics until the litigation is concluded.”
