Camelot, the company that currently operates the National Lottery, is suing the game’s parent organisation in the high court after it lost its licence to a rival.
Last week, the Gambling Commission – the regulator that oversees the lottery – confirmed plans to transfer the game to rival operator Allwyn Entertainment after more than 28 years with Camelot in charge.
Camelot’s boss said he was “shocked” by the decision and claimed the watchdog had “got this decision badly wrong.”
“Despite lengthy correspondence, the commission has failed to provide a satisfactory response,” said Camelot chief executive Nigel Railton. “We are therefore left with no choice but to ask the court to establish what happened.”
Mr Railton said the selection process deserved more “independent scrutiny”, and pointed to Camelot’s more than 1,000 employees that “work tirelessly to successfully operate The National Lottery”.
“At the very least, they are owed a proper explanation.”
The commission, which made the selection, said it regretted “Camelot’s decision to bring legal proceedings following the outcome of a highly successful competition for the fourth National Lottery licence.”
It added that it had run a “fair and robust” competition.
Camelot has run the National Lottery over three licence periods starting at its launch in 1994 – and this time faced a wider field of rivals for the new licence than at any time since then, with four applications at the final stage.
A new ten-year licence will be awarded in 2024.
Switzerland-based Allwyn, owned by Czech businessman Karel Komarek, currently operates lotteries in countries including Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece and Italy.
The company has offered Camelot’s staff that work on the National Lottery a job should they choose to take it.
“To the employees of Camelot, you will all be welcome to join us on this exciting new journey for the National Lottery,” the bid’s chairman Sir Keith Mills said last month.
Since launching in 1994, the National Lottery has raised more than £45bn for 660,000 good causes such as arts, sport and heritage across the UK, the commission said. It has created more than 6,300 new millionaires.
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