National Lottery operator sees ‘inflection point’ despite drop in revenue Tech The operator of the National Lottery has revealed lower UK sales and earnings for the start of the year but said it saw an “inflection point” on the horizon its British arm. Allwyn, the European gaming operator who took over the UK National lottery in 2024, booked revenue growth of around a fifth in the [...]
Richard Desmond hit with £40m bill over ‘fanciful’ lottery feud Legal Media tycoon Richard Desmond’s company Northern and Shell has been ordered to pay over £40m after a two-year-long legal feud with the Gambling Commission over the 2022 National Lottery license. A High Court judge has ordered media giant Northern and Shell and its subsidiary, the New Lottery Company, to cough up 75 per cent of [...]
Judge throws out Richard Desmond’s billion-pound lottery case Legal Media tycoon Richard Desmond has lost his billion-pound legal battle against the Gambling Commission over the 2022 National Lottery license. Desmond’s group, Northern and Shell, and its subsidiary, the New Lottery Company, launched a £1.3bn legal action against the Gambling Commission after it awarded the next licence to Czech gambling group Allwyn. The procurement competition for [...]
Google and Apple can give Team GB Lottery-like boost up medal tables March 19, 2026 It took John Major’s National Lottery brainwave to turn GB into an Olympic and Paralympic force but Big Tech could do the same, argues Ed Warner. With Milan Cortina a wrap, British athletes have completed a full set of post-Covid Olympics and Paralympics, both Summer and Winter, in 21 months. A solitary silver medal from [...]
UK Sport: We invest £32m in winter sports because Britain cares deeply February 28, 2026 Milan Cortina and the British public’s appetite for melon grabs and curling showed why UK Sport invested £32.5m in winter sports in this Olympic cycle, says CEO Sally Munday. Watching years of dedication come together in a single run at Milan Cortina earlier this month was extraordinary. Matt Weston’s performance en route to Team GB’s [...]
Winter Olympics can show Britain how to start winning again February 19, 2026 Britain’s success in the Winter Olympics is a corrective to narratives about our decline – and hold lessons for funding our public services too, says John Oxley Narratives of Britain’s decline abound. From our stalling economic growth to our inability to build sufficient housing to our overwhelmed public services, all point to the country’s struggles. [...]
I’ve been speaking to CEOs all year – this is what they really think December 24, 2025 After spending a year interviewing some of the UK’s top business leaders, a number of themes have emerged which paint a concerning picture of their confidence in this country’s future prospects – but there is also hope. In 25 episodes of Morning Wire‘s Boardroom Uncovered podcast series in 2025, a large number of the CEOs [...]
Boardroom Uncovered: Is playing The National Lottery still gambling? July 23, 2025 The boss of Allwyn UK has insisted the National Lottery is not gambling, despite the company being regulated by the Gambling Commission.
Allwyn UK boss: The National Lottery is not gambling July 23, 2025 The boss of Allwyn UK has insisted the National Lottery is not gambling, despite the company being regulated by the Gambling Commission. Andria Vidler, in the latest episode of Morning Wire‘s Boardroom Uncovered show, sought to set the National Lottery apart from betting giants such as Bet365, Betfred and PaddyPower. Also as part of the [...]
What if the boss of the National Lottery won the jackpot? July 14, 2025 It’s a question that everyone has either been asked or posed themselves – what would you do if you won the National Lottery? Doubtless there are countless answers to that very simple question, although talk might be dominated at the moment by questions over how hard the Labour government would tax that new-found wealth. But [...]