UK High Court rejects Desmond's TNLC case against Gambling Commission on all counts

Following a lengthy court process spanning multiple years, Richard Desmond’s case against the Gambling Commission has been rejected on all counts by the UK’s High Court.  

Indeed, High Court Judge Joanna Smith also outlined the rejection of “vague and unparticularised” claims made by Desmond and his The National Lottery Company (TNLC) that the commission had favoured Allwyn’s ultimately successful UK Lottery licence application: “I also note that, even at trial, the Claimants’ case has not been entirely consistent,” stated Smith. 

A multitude of claims of this nature were launched against the UK regulator following TNLC’s unsuccessful licence application – with every single one facing rejection by ruling of Judge Smith.  

Outlined as part of the judge’s lengthy and comprehensive ruling report was the rejection of TNLC’s claim that commission evaluators failed to adequately cross-examine the application, alongside the dismissal of claims that evaluators had not been properly trained by the regulator.  

Elsewhere, the commission’s ruling that TNLC had not enacted proper player protection initiatives in its application – namely a lack of comprehensive self-exclusion and underage protection safeguards – was also upheld by Judge Smith, who stated: “In all the circumstances I can see no basis on which to find that the Commission has acted outside the margin of its considerable discretion in respect of this issue.” 

Claims made by TNLC of manifest errors by the commission relating to the inadequate funds protection and monitoring compliance parts of its application were also denied. 

Speaking on this latest development, a Gambling Commission spokesperson provided the following comment: “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 Licence, and that none of the contested changes to the Licence, in the course of its implementation, were substantial or contrary to the relevant procurement regulations. 

"The judgment gives resounding support to Good Causes by enabling Allwyn, with oversight from the Commission, to continue with their plans of investment in The National Lottery without further distraction. Our priority remains to continue regulating The National Lottery for the benefit of participants and Good Causes." 

Echoing this sentiment was the UK National Lottery operator, Allwyn, which outlined: ““We welcome today’s clear and comprehensive judgment, which confirms that the Gambling Commission ran a fair and lawful licence competition, properly awarding the Fourth National Lottery Licence to Allwyn. The court further found that both Good Causes and Allwyn have suffered significant losses due to the delays caused by litigation brought by the unsuccessful applicants. 

“It also draws a line under a long-running series of allegations about the integrity of the competition process, many of which were withdrawn during the proceedings, with the remainder rejected by the court. The judgment provides clarity and legal certainty, and our focus now is on delivering for players and increasing funding for good causes. That means moving faster on innovation such as New Lotto and Powerball, which we announced earlier this week.”