The costs of the management of the British Game regulatory authority doubled last year because they are preparing for a legal showdown with great commitment in the allocation of national lottery license.
Newly submitted accounts show that the Costs of the Gambling Commission associated with the national lottery rose to 28.8 million GBP in March until March, compared to GBP 14.4 million in the previous year. The increase reflects the increasing legal costs because the supervisory authority is preparing to defend itself against a claim for damages of 1.3 billion GBP by Tycoon Richard Desmond’s publisher.
The 73-year-old Desmond sued the Commission after his company had not won the lucrative 10-year license, which was instead awarded to Allwyn and belonged to the Czech billionaire Karel Komárek. The case is scheduled to start at the High Court in October.
The work of the Commission is partially financed by the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF), whereby the money collected by ticket sales is collected in good reasons. However, since the legal disputes of the regulatory authority – up to 13.4 million GBP last year compared to 400,000 GBP before – warn that the critics warn that funds that are intended for charity and community projects are initiated into the courtroom.
Desmond has also submitted a separate claim of 70 million GBP in which it was argued that funds that were recorded under the previous operator Camelot for good causes were a “subsidy” that should now be withdrawn from Allwyn. If the two claims are successful, damage from the NLDF should also be drawn.
The gambling commission insisted that it had carried out a “fair and robust” competition and said that her evaluation process was lawful. Allwyn has had trouble since taking over the lottery at the beginning of last year. A large IT system upgrade, which was classified as critical for its promise for more than double charitable donations to 38 billion GBP, was hindered by delays, which was enforced by the supervisory authority.
Despite the turbulence, the national turnover of the lottery rose last year thanks to the EuroMillions jackpots, including a € 250 million (€ 217 million) in March. This contributed to compensating for the sales of lottery and scratchcard sales during the cost of living. Overall, the money for good principles of 100 million GBP rose to 1.8 billion GBP.
