The Court of Appeal has dismissed a legal challenge from The New Lottery Company and Northern & Shell seeking to overturn the award of the fourth UK National Lottery licence to Allwyn.
Allwyn was granted the licence in March 2022, beating competition from The New Lottery Company, Italy’s Sisal, and incumbent operator Camelot to secure the deal.
Both The New Lottery Company and Northern & Shell had alleged before the High Court that the Gambling Commission wrongly awarded the licence, arguing The New Lottery Company should have won instead.
The High Court dismissed those claims in April, also rejecting allegations that the regulator and Allwyn had entered into impermissible modifications to the licence arrangements following the original bid process.
Northern & Shell subsequently vowed to appeal, filing a joint bid in the Court of Appeal alongside The New Lottery Company in pursuit of overturning the earlier ruling.
That appeal has now also failed, with the Court of Appeal upholding the High Court’s ruling on both the licence award and the subsequent modifications made during its implementation.
The court ruled that The New Lottery Company should not be permitted to raise a new legal argument on points from the initial case, and described its prospects of success in the original bid process as “vanishingly small.”
The court also determined that The New Lottery Company did not suffer any losses “in practical terms,” further undermining the basis for the legal challenge.
The Gambling Commission welcomed the decision, with a spokesperson describing it as an “important” ruling for the future operation of the lottery.
“The 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,” the spokesperson said.
The regulator’s statement emphasised that the ruling supports the continuation of Allwyn’s investment plans, allowing the operator to press forward without further legal distraction.
“Our priority remains to continue regulating the National Lottery for the benefit of participants and good causes,” the Commission’s spokesperson added.
The ruling carries significant financial consequences for Northern & Shell and its owner, media tycoon Richard Desmond, with a CityAM report last month suggesting legal bills could exceed £40 million.
The High Court had ordered Northern & Shell to cover 75% of the overall trial costs, relating to proceedings that ran from 9 October to 2 December 2025, plus an additional day in January this year.
It remains unclear whether the Court of Appeal hearing will add further costs to that figure, and neither The New Lottery Company nor Northern & Shell have publicly commented on the latest outcome.
Allwyn’s path to operating the National Lottery was not without obstacles, as incumbent Camelot also initially contested the licence decision before eventually withdrawing its challenge.
International Game Technology similarly pursued a damages claim related to the licence change, before later dropping the case after agreeing a technology partnership with Allwyn.
Despite the legal challenges now appearing resolved, Allwyn still faces scrutiny from the Gambling Commission over delays to digital upgrades and axed plans to halve the main draw ticket price to £1.
Technology upgrades were completed last summer, and in June Allwyn made changes to the main UK lotto draw while also introducing a UK-specific version of Powerball, marking the first time the game has been available outside the United States.
