Richard Desmond loses damages battle with Gambling Commission, ending national lottery dispute

Media tycoon Richard Desmond's £1.3bn legal challenge against the Gambling Commission over the national lottery licence has been decisively rejected by the courts. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Richard Desmond loses damages battle with Gambling Commission, ending national lottery dispute

Contesto

Media tycoon Richard Desmond has lost his high-stakes claim for up to £1.3bn in damages from the Gambling Commission, bringing a definitive end to a bitter, multi-year legal dispute over the regulator's decision to award the lucrative 10-year national lottery licence to another operator. The ruling, delivered in London, concludes a tortuous legal process initiated in 2022 by companies owned by the former proprietor of the Daily Express and Channel 5, who had challenged the Commission's procurement process for the fourth national lottery licence. The case stemmed from the Gambling Commission's 2022 decision to award the next decade-long licence to Allwyn Entertainment, formerly known as Sazka Group, ending the 28-year tenure of Camelot. Desmond's Northern & Shell group, which had bid for the contract through its subsidiary, the New Lottery Company Ltd, alleged that the regulator's evaluation process was flawed and unlawful. The claim sought monumental damages, arguing that had the process been conducted properly, Northern & Shell would have been the winning bidder. The financial scale of Desmond's legal pursuit was staggering. By May of last year, his estimated personal legal costs were reported to have reached approximately £55 million, a sum that underscores the intensity and complexity of the litigation. This expenditure was undertaken despite the significant financial and reputational risks involved in suing a key government regulator. The court's rejection of his claim means these substantial costs will not be recovered, representing a significant financial blow to the businessman. The national lottery licence is one of the most valuable commercial contracts in the UK, with the operator receiving a percentage of the proceeds from a game that generates billions for good causes, retail, and the treasury. The Commission's selection of Allwyn was framed as a move to revitalize the lottery, aiming to grow returns to good causes in the face of competition from other forms of gambling. Desmond's legal challenge had cast a shadow over this transition, creating a period of uncertainty for the future of the national institution. With the court's decision, the path is...

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Categoria: cronaca