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Brick Court successful for Allwyn in Fourth National Lottery Licence challenge

17/04/26

Judgment was handed down this morning in TNLC & Anor v Gambling Commission & Ors [2026] EWHC 891 (TCC), in which Mrs Justice Joanna Smith DBE has comprehensively dismissed the claims brought against the Gambling Commission by Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell plc and The New Lottery Company Limited (TNLC). The claims challenged the Gambling Commission’s conduct of the Competition for the 4th UK National Lottery Licence and modifications made to the Licence following its award to Allwyn in 2022.

By the close of the 3-month trial in January 2026, many of TNLC’s allegations had been abandoned. In a 280-page judgment, Joanna Smith J has dismissed the remainder of the claims in full.

The Judge specifically found that during the Competition for the 4th 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 scores between its aggregate score and Allwyn’s, and that TNLC had stood no real chance of winning the Competition. The Licence had therefore been fairly and properly awarded by the Gambling Commission to Allwyn.

The Judge also found that the modifications made to the Licence by the Gambling Commission were lawful. Confirming that they were not made necessary due to any fault of Allwyn – as TNLC had initially claimed – the Judge found that they had instead 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 Allwyn’s Licence to take account of the delays that Camelot and IGT had caused.

Addressing TNLC’s claims for £1.3 billion damages, the Judge held that they had suffered no loss (and 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.

A copy of the judgment can be found here.

Mark Howard KC and Malcolm Birdling KC acted for Allwyn, instructed by Dominic Roughton of Quinn Emmauel LLP. Malcolm also acted successfully for Allwyn in respect of the challenges to the Competition for the 4th Licence brought by Camelot and IGT.

All members of Brick Court Chambers are self employed barristers. Any views expressed are those of the individual barristers and not of Brick Court Chambers as a whole.