UK Court of Appeal upholds Allwyn’s National Lottery licence award

The Court of Appeal has upheld the award of the fourth UK National Lottery licence to Allwyn, rejecting an attempt by The New Lottery Company (TNLC) and Northern & Shell to overturn an earlier High Court judgment, which alleged TNLC should have won instead and that the regulator entered “impermissible” modifications to the licence arrangements following the bid process.

The court dismissed TNLC’s claim that it should have secured the licence, concluding that its prospects of succeeding in the competition would have been “vanishingly small”. The ruling said TNLC had not suffered any losses “in practical terms”.

Judges agreed that the High Court’s conclusions on both the licence award and subsequent changes to the arrangements should stand. TNLC was also denied permission to introduce a new legal argument, particularly in relation to issues raised during the original High Court proceedings.

The decision follows several legal challenges connected to the Gambling Commission’s selection process. Camelot, the incumbent operator, was the first company to contest the outcome, arguing that the regulator had not been sufficiently transparent in its communications during the process. Its action triggered an automatic High Court suspension of the licence decision.

Camelot later withdrew its challenge. Allwyn subsequently acquired Camelot UK, the company that operated the National Lottery, as well as North American-facing Camelot Lottery Solutions.

International Game Technology also pursued damages over the regulator’s decision, arguing that the change of licensee would affect its business. IGT later abandoned the claim after entering a technology partnership with Allwyn.

The latest court decision does not remove all potential difficulties for Allwyn. The company could still face regulatory action over delays and its failure to deliver certain commitments. The Gambling Commission’s concerns have included the cancellation of plans to reduce the main draw ticket price to £1 and delays to digital upgrades. The National Lottery is also expected to miss its fundraising targets.

Technology upgrades were completed last summer, while Allwyn made changes to the main UK Lotto draw in June. It also introduced a UK-specific version of Powerball, making the game available outside the United States for the first time.

The Gambling Commission welcomed the Court of Appeal ruling, describing it as an “important” decision for the operation of the National Lottery. 

“The 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,” a commission spokesperson said.

Allwyn was selected in March 2022 after competing against TNLC, Italy’s Sisal and incumbent operator Camelot. TNLC and Northern & Shell subsequently challenged the outcome in the High Court, alleging that the Gambling Commission had wrongly awarded the licence to Allwyn and that TNLC should have been selected instead.

The High Court rejected those claims in April. It also dismissed allegations that the regulator and Allwyn had made impermissible changes to the licence arrangements after the bidding process.

Northern & Shell, the investment company owned by media tycoon Richard Desmond, then said it would appeal. It filed a joint application with TNLC before the Court of Appeal, which has now turned unsuccessful.

The failed litigation could leave Desmond facing legal costs exceeding £40 million ($53.85 million). CityAM reported last month that the High Court had ordered Northern & Shell to pay 75% of the trial’s overall costs, an amount estimated at more than £40 million.

The trial ran from October 9 to December 2, 2025, with an additional hearing day in January. Neither TNLC nor Northern & Shell has commented on the latest ruling.