Allwyn UK and the Gambling Commission can rest easy after the last possible legal challenge against the fourth National Lottery licence was finally put to bed.

The Court of Appeal has rejected The New Lottery Corporation (TNLC) and Northern & Shell’s request to appeal the High Court’s April 2026 rejection of a claim for restitution against the Gambling Commission.

TNLC, the lottery company set up by UK media mogul Richard Desmond and his publishing group Northern & Shell, was an unsuccessful bidder during the 2022 tender contest for the fourth National Lottery licence. 

Desmond and his company subsequently launched a legal challenge against the Commission’s decision to grant the licence to Allwyn UK, claiming for over £1.3bn in damages.

All three of TNLC’s grounds for appeal against the High Court were rejected by the Court of Appeal and the presiding judge, Lord Justice Peter Coulsen.

The judge concluded that TNLC should not be able to raise a new legal argument against the Gambling Commission, particularly arguments that have already been rejected by the High Court.

During proceedings, Coulsen also said that TNLC had suffered no losses in practical terms.

“This is an important decision for the operation of The National Lottery and one that we welcome,” a Gambling Commission spokesperson remarked.

“The Gambling Commission ran a fair and robust competition to award the Fourth National Lottery Licence and that none of the contested changes to the Licence, in the course of its implementation, were substantial or contrary to the relevant procurement regulations.”

Four years of lottery legal battles

The 2022 competition process for the 10 year licence was overseen by the Gambling Commission, with the licence ultimately being awarded to Allwyn UK as noted above. 

Allwyn UK is the UK division of Swiss-headquartered multinational lottery company Allwyn. 

The firm took over National Lottery management in February 2024, and will operate it until at least 2034, after which it will likely bid to do so again in the 10-year licence contest.

Allwyn’s victory in the 2022 tender was quickly challenged, however, and not just by Desmond. The firm has had to deal with a series of legal battles ever since winning the licence:

• Camelot UK, the Watford firm which had operated the National Lottery since its 1994 launch, almost immediately challenged the Commission’s decision to give the contract to Allwyn. Camelot dropped its claim in September 2022, and Allwyn subsequently bought the company from the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTTP) in February 2023.
• International Game Technology (IGT), Camelot UK’s technology partner, launched a multi-billion claim for damages which was ultimately lost in July 2023. Its subsequent appeal was withdrawn in January 2024.
• Desmond’s claim of £1.3bn, as well as a claim that a £70m marketing subsidy issued by the Gambling Commission to National Lottery operators was unfair and unlawful which was rejected by the Competition Appeal Tribunal in March 2026.
• As well as rejecting Desmond’s claim for £1.3bn in damages in April 2026, the High Court also ordered his company to pay Allwyn and the Gambling Commission’s legal costs stemming from the two-year legal battle, with the latter’s having been very apparent in published budgets.

With the rejection of Desmond’s appeal, his avenues for further legal action against the Gambling Commission and Allwyn have been effectively sealed off.

For Allwyn, this is one less headache for the firm as it presses ahead with a modernisation of the National Lottery. This has included a huge upgrade of lottery retail infrastructure, a requirement of the licence contract – though the failure to meet a required time schedule did lead to some Commission scrutiny.

The firm is also launching new products, such as the popular US product Powerball which made its debut last week, as it works towards achieving an ambitious goal of doubling weekly returns to good causes from £30m to £60m by the end of the 10 year contract.

An Allwyn spokesperson told SBC News that the Court of Appeal decision “finally brings to an end years of litigation brought by unsuccessful applicants arising from the competition for the fourth National Lottery licence”.

“We can now put this behind us and focus fully on delivering for players and increasing funding for good causes,” they added.

A huge sigh of relief was likely breathed in the offices of the Gambling Commission, with the regulator currently having more than enough on its plate as it deals with some hotly debated betting and gaming regulatory topics like Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs).

The regulator is also in the midst of leadership transitions. Its Chief Executive, Andrew Rhodes, departed in April, while its Executive Director of Policy and Research, Tim Miller, will vacate in September.

The Commission’s spokesperson continued: “The decision gives resounding support to Good Causes by enabling Allwyn, with oversight from the Commission, to continue with their plans for investment in The National Lottery without further distraction.

“Our priority remains to continue regulating The National Lottery for the benefit of participants and Good Causes.”