IGT seeks damages from UK Gambling Commission under European law

The saga involving the UK National Lottery should have been wrapped up in September but a fresh challenge by IGT may change that, writes The Times in its latest report on the case.

A prolonged legal battle finally came to an amicable conclusion last year when Camelot acknowledged its defeat in the UK National Lottery re-tendering process which was ultimately won by Czech-owned Allwyn Entertainment.

Allwyn and Camelot brought things to court, with Camelot, the outgoing license holder, insisting that the process was not conducted based on the guidelines issued by the UK Gambling Commission.

Camelot withdrew its legal challenges in September, putting worries to rest that the assumption of responsibilities will be fraught with difficulties or even blocked. Later in November, Allwyn agreed to acquire the UK business from Camelot, in a bid to strengthen its presence and give the lottery the best possible start.

This decision was in line with Camelot’s previous remarks that should it lose the lottery rights in the United Kingdom, the UK arm would simply go bankrupt. This should have been it, but according to The Times, the technology partner for Camelot, Italian-owned International Game Technology, is now launching a legal challenge of its own.

IGT is suing the UK Gambling Commission under European human rights laws, insisting that by awarding the license to Allwyn, the regulator had cost IGT "marketable goodwill." This fresh legal challenge puts into question the processes the UKGC followed to select a winner as part of the latest tendering process.

The media explained that the complaint had been submitted ahead of the Christmas holidays and it cites breaches that pertain to Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Human Rights Act.

According to The Times, should IGT succeed in its legal challenge, it could secure a damages award of up to £600m ($720m), and the money would come out of the National Lottery’s good causes fund, making it harder for Allwyn to deliver on its promise to significantly increase contributions to the fund as the new lottery custodian.

Allwyn is due to take over the operations in the first quarter of the next year, and this should not be an issue even if IGT presses on with its legal challenge.

Image credit: Unsplash.com