It has been announced that Camelot, the company that currently runs the UK National Lottery & EuroMillions in the United Kingdom, has lost the license to run the National Lottery. In an announcement, the Gambling Commission announced the new holder of the permit. Camelot has also now ceased all legal objections, and appointing Allwyn as the new lottery provider in the United Kingdom will begin.
Allwyn Entertainment Snap Up National Lottery
The Gambling Commission has selected a company that not many lottery players will be familiar with. Allwyn is the UK subsidiary of Sazka, the most significant player in European lottery operations. They currently run several lotteries in countries like Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Greece and, in due course, the United Kingdom.
The Gambling Commission indicated that Allwyn was the preferred bidder, and predictably Camelot has revealed their disappointment in losing the Lotto bid as it is known in the UK. Camelot has been subject to criticism and a lot of competition around the bids for the lottery.
Camelot has also managed to keep the lottery license for a staggering period of 30 years. It donated a considerable amount of money to good causes during that time. The UK is an extensive lottery-playing region, though, and a significant amount is expected to be donated to good causes.
Sazka – The Czech Lottery Giant
The Allwyn application seems to have trumped the Camelot bid this time. However, it will be interesting to see how this giant European Lottery handles the UK National Lottery institution. Despite its dwindling popularity in the face of increased competition, it remains a force in the UK Lottery scene.
Some of Camelot’s changes to the Lotto, including adding balls to the draw, have seen it stagnate. It was the most popular lottery game in the United Kingdom. However, it is now poor in popularity behind other lottery games like EuroMillions. Part of this is due to the changes that have been made that increased the already significant odds of winning a lottery.
The change in license does not happen immediately. Instead, it will only take place in 2024. That allows Camelot to run the Lotto for an additional two years. As far as we know, this also affects the license status to run the EuroMillion Lottery.
We are sure there will be additional shenanigans around awarding the Lottery license. In our opinion, it is high time that a fresh injection of ideas and approaches is brought to the National Lottery, and Sazka might be the one to provide this.