Richard Desmond Loses £1.3bn Damages Claim Over National Lottery Licence
Firms owned by media tycoon Richard Desmond initiated legal action against the Gambling Commission in 2022 after the lottery franchise was awarded to Allwyn.
The media mogul, formerly owner of the Daily Express and Channel 5, has lost his claim seeking up to £1.3bn in damages, concluding a protracted dispute over the regulator’s decision not to grant him the 10-year licence to operate the national lottery.
Desmond’s companies, including his Northern & Shell investment firm and his lottery bid vehicle, The New Lottery Company (TNLC), began the legal process in 2022. By May of the previous year, his legal costs were estimated to have reached £55 million.
His legal team argued that the Gambling Commission committed “manifest errors” during the complex process governing the UK’s largest public sector contract, valued at £6.5 billion.
Desmond claimed that the Commission’s mistakes caused him to incur £17.5 million in unnecessary expenses while pursuing his bid. Additionally, he sought up to £1.3 billion in damages to compensate for hypothetical lost earnings from operating the lottery.
Allwyn, a new entity ultimately owned by Czech billionaire Karel Komárek, won the franchise in 2022 and has managed the lottery draws since 2024.
Judgment and Legal Outcome
On Friday, Mrs Justice Smith dismissed Desmond’s claim.
“The claimants have failed to make out any case of manifest error on the part of the Commission in their process claim,”
“They have also failed to establish that either [previous licence holder] Camelot or Allwyn should have been disqualified from the competition, whether by reason of incumbency advantage (Camelot) or conflict of interest (Allwyn).”
“The competition that was conducted for the award of the Fourth Licence reached a lawful outcome.”
Desmond, now based in Dubai and previously proprietor of titles including the Daily Express, Asian Babes, and Readers’ Wives, had launched several legal challenges related to the decision.
The former Conservative Party donor and Brexit supporter claimed in his lawsuit that the regulator oversaw a flawed process that warranted a rerun.
He sought damages up to £1.3 billion, which would likely have been funded from the lottery money allocated to good causes.
Previously, Desmond had also failed in a separate claim alleging that Allwyn received an unlawful £70 million marketing subsidy from the Gambling Commission.
