High Court makes ruling on IGT litigation case against Allwyn lottery licence
The legal issues around the decision to award Allwyn the Fourth Licence have been ongoing since early 2022.
The UK High Court has dismissed legal claims made by International Game Technology (IGT) against the Gambling Commission, which involved claims for damages.
The problems first arose at the start of 2022, when the National Lottery announced it considered Allwyn as its Preferred Applicant for the Fourth National Licence.
This resulted in a strained legal response from Camelot, in an attempt to retain the licence it had held since 1994.
Once Camelot finally dropped its court challenge appeals, Allwyn was formally awarded the licence on 20 September, 2022.
However, tensions arose again when Allwyn then bought Camelot’s UK Lottery division from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Since then, Camelot involved partner company IGT in the new rounds of legal proceedings.
On 5 January, it was reported that IGT was to sue the Gambling Commission under European human rights laws, arguing that giving the Fourth Lottery Licence to the Czech-owned Allwyn gaming group had cost it “marketable goodwill.”
The damages for the case against the Gambling Commission were estimated to be £600m ($717m).
The High Court hearing was held on 28 July, 2023, where it was finally decided that all of the claims by IGT were dismissed.
This puts an end to the litigation case and IGT can no longer pursue a claim for damages.
In its announcement, the Gambling Commission wrote: “The legal claim by The New Lottery Company (TNLC) was stayed pending the outcome of this legal action.
“The Commission is not aware what TNLC intentions are following this outcome.
“We remain resolute that we have run a fair and robust competition, and that our evaluation has been carried out fairly and lawfully in accordance with our statutory duties.”
In its latest financial results, Allwyn reported an 80% increase in total revenue and a 40% increase in net revenue.
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