Richard Desmond’s lottery firm ordered to pay Commission and Allwyn legal costs

The Gambling Commission has praised the High Court’s decision regarding Richard Desmond’s lottery lawsuit as easing “the potential impact of the litigation on good causes”.

The High Court ruled against Richard Desmond and his company, The New Lottery Corporation (TNLC), on 17 April, bringing an end to a two-year legal battle between the media mogul and the gambling regulator, and by extension Allwyn UK.

On 22 May, Justice Joanne Smith ordered TNLC to cover 75% of the Gambling Commission’s costs and 70% of Allwyn UK’s costs. It is estimated that this could cost Desmond’s companies up to £40m.

The Commission has understandably reacted positively to the news, issuing the following statement to Lottery Daily this morning.

“Following the hearing on Friday 22 May, the Gambling Commission welcomes the Judge’s decision to award the Commission’s costs on an indemnity basis alongside the High Court’s decision to refuse permission to appeal the April judgment, which ruled in favour of the Gambling Commission on all of the claims made by TNLC, rejecting the allegations which had been made.

“The award of significant costs will lessen the potential impact of the litigation on Good Causes.”

It was previously expected that if Desmond was successful in its claims, part or all of the restitution would be paid for by diverting funds away from good causes, or from public funds held by HM Treasury.

Desmond’s suit the last in a trio of lottery legal challenges

As mentioned above, Desmond was a key participant in the tender for the fourth National Lottery licence via his New Lottery Corporation and Northern & Shell publishing group, the latter of which is also operator of the Health Lottery.

When Allwyn UK won the tender, later commencing its tenure as 10 year National Lottery operator in February 2024, Desmond mounted a legal challenge. He criticised the tender as an unfair contest, and argued for £1.3bn in restitution.

The Commission offered £10m out of court, but this was rejected by Desmond who continued to seek billions in restitution.

He reportedly dropped some of his claims in August 2025, and in March 2026 his claim that the £70m marketing subsidy received by former lottery operator Camelot UK from the Gambling Commission was unlawful was rejected by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

Desmond’s main claim against the Commission – the “The New Lottery Company Ltd & Ors v Gambling Commission 2026” – took aim at the Commission’s handling of the fourth National Lottery licence tender, its subsequent agreement with Allwyn, and contended that the operator had violated the Commercial Market Operator (CMO) principle via the above mentioned £70m marketing subsidiary to Camelot UK.

Justice Smith’s decision paves the way for Allwyn to continue operating the National Lottery for at least the next eight years free of legal battles, though it has had a run in with the Gambling Commission due to delays to an extensive upgrade to the National Lottery’s retail infrastructure.

The company has had to contend with three since winning the licence contest back in March 2022:

• Camelot UK, which had been operating the lottery since its inception in 1994, mounted a legal claim against the Commission’s decision. This was dropped in September 2022 and Allwyn subsequently acquired the Watford-based company from its owner, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTTP).
• International Game Technology, the long-time technology partner of Camelot UK, lost a mulit-billion claim for damages in July 2023. It subsequently mounted an appeal, but withdrew it in January 2024. The firm subsequently rebranded as Brightstar Lottery when its gaming technology divisions were sold to Apollo Global Management.
• The Desmond lawsuit. Perhaps the one that has captured the most public attention due to Desmond’s status as a prominent media figure in the UK as founder and owner of Northern & Shell, the former publisher of the the Daily Express, Daily Star, their respective Sunday editions.

Update – an Allwyn spokesperson issued the folloiwng statement to Lottery Daily:

“We welcome this clear and comprehensive judgment, which confirms that the Gambling Commission ran a fair and lawful licence competition, properly awarding the Fourth National Lottery Licence to Allwyn. The court further found that both Good Causes and Allwyn have suffered significant losses due to the delays caused by litigation brought by the unsuccessful applicants.

“It also draws a line under a long-running series of allegations about the integrity of the competition process, many of which were withdrawn during the proceedings, with the remainder rejected by the court. The judgment provides clarity and legal certainty, and our focus now is on delivering for players and increasing funding for good causes. That means moving faster on innovation such as New Lotto and Powerball, which we announced earlier this week.”

https://lotterydaily.com/2026/06/01/highlighted/richard-desmonds-lottery-firm-ordered-to-pay-commission-and-allwyn-legal-costs/