UK National Lottery Licence Decision Delayed

The process to determine who will receive the next National Lottery licence has been delayed. A final decision will not now be taken until February 2022 with the new licence beginning in 2024.

Since the National Lottery began in 1994, the licence has always been held by Camelot. They of course hope to retain their licence and lottery sales have gone extremely well in recent years. Their hope is that on 1 February 2024 when the new licence begins, they will still be the holders.

Plenty of Bidders

There are however several other companies who are hoping to be granted the new licence. There’s Sisal (who run the SuperEnalotto lottery in Italy, who are working with BT. The Sazka group from the Czech Republic (operating as Allwyn in the UK) and Northern & Shell are also in contention.

The decision on who is granted the licence lies in the hands of the UK Gambling Commission. They have announced that representations had been received from bidders asking for more time to be allowed.

Complicated Process

The process to determine who will be given the National Lottery licence has been more complex than anticipated. Bidders have had to submit their proposals and the Gambling Commission then return their feedback.

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has caused problems. One bidder has said that the international travel restrictions that are in place has led to delays.

Now there will be a new timeline in place for the application process. Four weeks has been added to phase two with six weeks needed for evaluation.

Commenting on the delay, the Gambling Commission said: “Our job is to run the best competition we possibly can – one that is open and fair and results in the best outcome for players and good causes. We want to appoint a licensee that can build on the National Lottery’s legacy and find new opportunities for a sustainable and successful future.”

They added that “All dates are indicative and may evolve in line with market feedback and the continued national, and international, impact of COVID-19, all of which we are keeping under constant review.”

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