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UK High Court Dismisses IGT’s Lawsuit Against Allwyn Lottery License
By Jeff Osienya Jul 31, 2023 LegalityIGT’s lawsuit against the UK Gambling Commission has been kicked to the curb, marking an end to yet another legal challenge facing Allwyn after winning the license to operate UK’s National Lottery. IGT can, however, appeal the ruling should it see fit.The quest by International Gaming Technolgy (IGT) to seek compensation after the National Lottery operation license was awarded to Czech-based Allwyn has hit a dead end, at least in the meantime. UK’s High Court dismissed charges brought forward by IGT, questioning the legitimacy of allocating the National Lottery license to the competition.
This dismissal is the latest chapter in the long-drawn-out saga that has involved key players that contended in the bidding process for the lucrative license. The chain reaction started in March 2022 when the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) formally announced that it had awarded the UK’s fourth National Lottery License to Allwyn Entertainment.
So, as had been expected, the regulator’s decision sparked myriads of reactions in the UK gaming scene, seeing that it would herald the end of Camelot Group’s 28-year National Lottery tenure. Battle lines in the UK lottery scene were drawn, culminating in the recent events. It, however, remains to be seen whether that’s the last we’ll hear of this case or whether IGT will want to appeal the High Court decision. So, how did IGT become embroiled in a dispute it wasn’t initially part of? Let’s turn back the hands of time.
Camelot’s Initial Legal Challenge
With Camelot’s hopes of running the National Lottery for another decade fading fast, the immediate cause of action was to take the matter before the courts. The company launched a legal challenge in April last year, claiming that the gaming watchdog had gotten the decision to strip it of the license ‘badly wrong.’
Automatically, the license transfer was blocked until the matter was heard in court. The UK Gambling Commission would then call for the court to lift the suspension of the license issuance. UKGC argued that the suspension would lead to disruption of the lottery’s performance, and the negative effects would trickle down to the good causes currently being funded by the proceeds from the lottery. Effectively, Camelot lost the case, and the operating license handover process proceeded as scheduled.
When Camelot initially went to court, it was accompanied by IGT, which was its technical provider. However, things changed when Allwyn bought Camelot to become an Allwyn subsidiary. This move permanently put to a stop Camelot’s appeal against the Gambling Commission’s tender decision after losing the first round. That’s because the deal, estimated to be worth £100 million, was a win-win situation for the two parties involved.
IGT’s New Claim
After Camelot dropped its case against its now parent company, IGT refused to back down and commenced its lawsuit against the Gambling Commission. IGT’s claim against the regulator came around Christmas last year, and it was based on the grounds of Article 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). The company claimed it had lost ‘marketable goodwill’ due to the Commission’s decision. Should the IGT case have sailed through successfully, the UKGC was set to lose a jarring sum exceeding £600 million.
As you can imagine, the news wasn’t received well in the UK, with some legislators livid that the company would derail the national lottery. Mansfield MP, Ben Bradley, was particularly angry that the company was targeting lottery money, which, as we mentioned before, usually is channeled towards honorable causes of uplifting the less fortunate communities across the United Kingdom.
The High Court Decision
After hearing IGT’s claim, the High Court came to the conclusive decision that IGT lacked a legal standing upon which it could challenge the Commission’s decision to award the National Lottery License to Allwyn. In a statement released just after the ruling, the Commission was keen to point out that this marked an end to all legal action from IGT concerning the fourth UK National Lottery License.
That said, it remains to be seen whether that’s the case, given that there’s still a possibility for IGT to appeal that ruling. The statement read in part:
Quote“This brings to an end all IGT litigation regarding the fourth license competition in the Commission’s favor, subject to any appeal against the decision. We remain resolute that we have run a fair and robust competition and that our evaluation has been carried out fairly and lawfully in accordance with our statutory licenses.”
Overall, the overwhelming message from the statement released by the UKGC was that it believes all the necessary steps were met when selecting Allwyn as the rightful heir to the throne previously held by Camelot. The statement further read:
Quote“We have taken every step possible to ensure a level playing field for all interested parties, to enable us to appoint a licensee who will engage and protect players, run the National Lottery with integrity, and ensure the National Lottery maximizes support for good causes and its contribution to society through further innovation and investment.”
Not Quite Out Of The Woods Yet
With the trouble relating to IGT seemingly in the rearview mirror (at least for now), there is still the pending lawsuit of The New Lottery Company (TNLC), which remains unsolved. As of now, we are unaware of TNLC’s plans with this lawsuit or whether it even wants to surge forward with the suit in light of the High Court’s determination of the IGT case.
That said, in the interim at least, it seems like it is set to be all systems go for Allwyn, who, barring any major shift in circumstances, is set to assume the fourth ten-year National Lottery License in February 2024, bringing an end to Camelot’s historic tenure which started in 1994.
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