Camelot is set to lose its license to run the UK national lottery. Camelot’s 28 years of Lottery events and big winner stories have come to end and will be given a new lease of life. In what is very much a bittersweet moment for UK gamblers, Camelot will lose the franchise for the first time since the first national lottery first took place in the UK on television way back in the nineties. The first national lottery kicked off long before the smartphone Apps and tablet computers we know and love today and we understand a mobile first lottery future might be on the cards when the new national lottery owners take over in 2024.
There is no doubt that 28 years of the national lottery under Camelot have been a great ride with many British winners, new games, and tech developments including the national lottery mobile App. With today’s iPhone 13 and Android smartphone technology, the national lottery mobile product is very different from the original television version hosted by Noel Edmonds and Mystic Meg.
The new national lottery gambling license includes all games such as Lotto, EuroMillions - which is run by different operators in each UK country - and the Thunderball.
Who is the new national lottery operator?
The UK Gambling Commission has named Allwyn, a rival of Camelot, as its first choice to take over. Allwyn, owned by Czech billionaire Karel Komárek, will be the first company to topple Camelot, winning the race to a 10 year license to run the national lottery from 2024.
Allwyn is the largest pan-European lottery operator running lotteries in the Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, Cyprus and Italy. With €17bn+ aggregate amounts staked, Allwyn is prime candidate for the top job of national lottery provider in the UK.
Other big bidders for the national lottery license include Italian operator Sisal, owned by Flutter which operates Paddy Power and SkyBet casino and sports betting brands. The New Lottery Company, run by Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell, was also in the running in a process that was shrouded in secrecy.
Allwyn’s victory stemmed from good causes and a gambling addiction plan may have helped Allwyn hit the jackpot of landing the national lottery. Today it looks certain that it will be Allwyn navigating the lotteries future as a UK national treasure on mobile, PC and TV screens.
About Allwyn and Allwyns national lottery bid
The Czech-owned firm today known as Allwyn globally was Sazka previously before rebranding prior to Allwyn’s national lottery campaign. The anglicised name ‘Allwyn’ was thought up during the national lottery bidding process.
The fourth challenge for the lucrative national lottery license ended in Camelots defeat to Allwyn. Allwyn eclipsed Camelot on multiple fronts including Allwyn’s promise to double charitable donations to £38billion over the next decade.
Allwyn fended off competition from media tycoon Richard Desmond and Sisal, an Italian firm whose bid was complicated when it was bought for £1.6bn by Paddy Power owner Flutter during the competition process.
Allwyn’s national lottery bid is rumored to have cost a staggering amount. Allegedly Allwyn spent £9million on its bid to become the next lottery operator. The new lottery operator was so determined to succeed, Allwyn went as far as to appoint Lord Sebastian Coe (MBE), UK national hero and member of the IOC, to Allwyn’s board as a non-executive director.
About Camelots national lottery reign
Canadian-owned Camelot’s tenure of nearly three decades as UK lottery operator is a top achievement. Camelot’s national lottery reign witnessed five prime ministers, fought off challenges from the likes of Sir Richard Branson and navigated the rise of the internet and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
When the national lottery was launched in 1994, via a TV spectacular viewed on television screens by more than a third of the population, the famous advertising slogan promised: “It could be you.” Mystic Meg was From 1994 to 2000 Mystic Meg appeared weekly on The National Lottery Live in ‘Mystic Meg Predicts’ – a 45-second reading during which Meg attempted to predict facts about the future winner. The television duo hosted what became a popular weekly item after her performance on the first broadcast of the National Lottery draw in 1994 which was on BBC1.
The national lottery as we know it will end. Camelot isn’t bowing out of the lottery game yet though as it still operates the Illinois State Lottery in the state of Illinois in the US as it has done since 2018.