In a statement, Camelot CEO Nigel Railton said: “We are launching a legal challenge today in our capacity as a fourth applicant. [national lottery] leave because we firmly believe that the Gambling Commission has made this very wrong decision. “ The Gaming Commission has said it “regrets” Camelot’s decision and expects the Supreme Court to rule that it has conducted a “fair and sound” trial. Allwyn, a lottery operator owned by Czech billionaire Karel Komárek, is set to take over Camelot in 2024 after winning an established four-way battle that also included Sisal, who’s parent Paddy Power, and Flut media mogul Richard Desmond. “When we got the result, we were shocked by aspects of the decision,” Railton said. “Despite the long correspondence, the committee failed to give a satisfactory answer. Therefore, we have no choice but to ask the court to prove what happened. “Regardless of Camelot’s dual role as the current operator and applicant for the next national lottery license, the tender is one of the largest procurements funded by the UK government and the process deserves independent scrutiny. “Separately, more than 1,000 Camelot employees are working tirelessly to successfully operate the national lottery with the current license and, at the very least, owe them a proper explanation.” The Gaming Commission said it was confident Camelot’s legal action would fail. Subscribe to the daily Business Today email or follow the Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk “We regret Camelot’s decision to initiate legal proceedings following the outcome of an extremely successful tender for the fourth national lottery license,” said a spokesman. “Our competition and evaluation were conducted fairly and legally in accordance with our statutory obligations and we are confident that a court will reach this conclusion. “We have taken every possible measure to ensure a level playing field for all stakeholders, to be able to designate a licensee who will bind and protect the players, conduct the national lottery with integrity and ensure that the national lottery will continue to support good causes and their contribution to society. “Our priority is to continue working to implement our decision and to ensure a smooth and timely transition to the next leave, for the benefit of the participants and good intentions. “These procedures will not help, but we believe that Camelot will live up to its obligations as a current licensee to cooperate in this transition and we will continue to use the tools at our disposal to facilitate this process.”
