UK Lottery licence passes to Allwyn

The National Lottery in the UK is now officially in the hands of the Czech-backed company Allwyn Entertainment from early in 2024.

Britain’s Gambling Commission this week formally handed over the keys to one of Europe’s most lucrative lottery operations, at the expense of the 30-year operator Camelot.

The £6.4bn contract was passed to Allwyn after a contentious battle between Camelot and the regulator that led to a legal action that is still ongoing. Camelot, in partnership with its IT operator IGT, is suing the regulator for damages of £600m.

Allwyn is a subsidiary of Sazka, the Czech-owned lottery giant that is already a strong operator in its own country and Austria and Greece.

It will operate the UK National Lottery from February of 2024. It will hold the licence for 10 years and is predicting a contribution of £38bn in that period that will go to good causes.