Procurement in a Nutshell: The New Lottery Company v Gambling Commission [2026] EWHC 891 (TCC)
24th April, 2026
In a previous nutshell, we outlined The New Lottery company (TNLC) v Gambling Commission (GC) was going before the courts and why this was significant. Last week, after a three month trial, the judgement was handed down.
You can view this previous nutshell here.
The case
The claim comprised a challenge against the Gambling Commission’s conduct of the Competition for the 4th UK National Lottery Licence and modifications made following the award to Allwyn in 2022.
The judgement
The result of this three month trial saw many of TNLC’s allegations dismissed in the 280 page judgement.
The Judge found that during the Competition for the Fourth Licence, TNLC had been properly disqualified for “failing over half” of the 23 “different mandatory requirements” necessary for its bid to be eligible for acceptance, that there was an “enormous gap” of over 30% in scored between its aggregate score and Allwyn’s, and that TNLC had stood no real chance of winning the Competition. As such, the Licence had therefore been fairly and correctly awarded by the Gambling Commission to Allwyn.
The Judge also found that the modifications made to the so-called “Enabling Agreement” by the Gambling Commission were lawful. This confirmed that they were not made due to any fault of Allwyn (as TNLC had initially claimed). The Judge had instead found they had been caused by the “hostile litigation” pursued by Camelot and IGT between 2022 and 2023 and would “almost certainly have been required irrespective of the identity of the successful bidder”. The Gambling Commission were therefore fully justified in modifying the Enabling Agreement to take account of the delays that Camelot and IGT had caused.
TNLC’s claim for £1.3 billion in damages was addressed by the Judge, concluding they had suffered no loss, and therefore had no standing, because it is “fanciful to suppose that TNLC would have won any competition against Allwyn”, the “world leader in conducting lotteries”. The Judge also held that TNLC’s modifications claim was time-barred.
You can view the full judgement here.
For further information please contact Melanie Pears or Tim Care in our Public Sector Team.
Procurement and public law update
Date: 14 May 2026
Time: 9.am – 11.30 am
Location: Ward Hadaway, 10 Chapel Walks, Manchester, M2 1HL, UK
Our in-person Procurement and Public Law Update covers the new procurement rules and their increased transparency requirements.
This seminar will look at what those changes have meant in practice since both the new Act and the new NHS regime came into force. We will give practical tips on how to manage procurements now and how to deal with the risks of challenge when the timescales are so tight.
Register here to join this free session with procurement law experts Tim Care and Matthew Brady.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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