Camelot drops appeal against High Court ruling
Judgement refused review of Health Lottery's licence to operate in UK awarded by Gambling Commission.
National Lottery operator Camelot has announced that it will no longer appeal last month’s High Court ruling refusing permission for a judicial review of the Health Lottery’s UK gambling licence.
In a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, Camelot Group CEO Dianne Thompson said she did not want the appeal and further legal action to delay “much-needed political action to close a loophole in the Gambling Act 2005″, according to a statement.
Camelot had argued during the High Court case on 22 August that although the Health Lottery manages draws for 51 separate local organisations and charities, it saw this overall scheme as a rival national lottery, which is not permitted under the National Lottery Act of 1993.
Thompson said of Camelot’s announcement: “As we have warned all along, time is of the essence “ the longer the period of political inaction, the more incentive there is for other commercial operators to establish similar industrial-scale society lotteries that would effectively cannibalise National Lottery sales and returns to the Good Causes.
“Now there is no longer any legal impediment to political action, we are urging the Government to take swift action to protect The National Lottery and the significant contribution it makes to society.”
The Health Lottery raises funds for health causes in the UK and was set up last year by the Richard Desmond-owned Northern & Shell publishing and television group, which owns Channel 5. In June, it was also granted a remote casino gambling licence by the Gambling Commission, allowing it to offer casino games and online poker.