Italian lottery operator Sisal mulls joining Camelot’s High Court challenge
Italian lottery operator Sisal is considering teaming up with Camelot to challenge the Gambling Commission’s decision to pick Czech firm Allwyn to run the UK’s National Lottery.
Sisal is weighing up plans to back Camelot’s High Court bid to overturn the Gambling Commission’s decision, after Camelot lodged a legal challenge against the government agency earlier this month, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The lawsuit comes after the UK’s gambling industry regulator awarded Czech lottery operator Allwyn the license to run Britain’s lucrative national lottery after Camelot’s license expires in 2024.
Camelot’s challenge to the Gambling Commission’s decision is set to focus on claims the Birmingham based regulator changed the rules for the tender in the final weeks of the two-year process.
The Gambling Commission has said it chose Allwyn to take over the license through a “fair, robust and open” process, as it said it had taken “every step possible to ensure a level playing field.”
Camelot’s High Court challenge is set to delay the handing over the National Lottery license to Czech billionaire Karel Komárek’s Allwyn by around five months.
The Italian operator’s plans to join forces with Camelot comes after Sisal failed in its bid to takeover the UK’s national lottery, after coming third in the tender behind Allwyn and Camelot.
Sisal’s bid to run the lottery comes after Irish gambling giant Flutter acquired the Milan headquartered firm for €1.9bn (£1.6bn) last year.
Camelot, which is owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has run the UK’s national lottery since it was first set up in 1994.