In the United Kingdom and the Gambling Commission regulator has announced that it has concluded the application stage of its process to select who is to be granted the next ten-year license to run the country’s National Lottery.

The watchdog used an official Tuesday press release to detail that this initial phase ended on Friday with it having received official license applications from four entities encompassing current operator Camelot UK Lotteries Limited as well as European lotteries giant Sazka Group, local publishing behemoth Northern and Shell and a conglomerate consisting of British telecommunications provider BT Group and Italian gaming specialist Sisal SpA.

Bountiful benefits:

The Gambling Commission kicked off its drive to select the next operator of the world’s fifth largest lottery some 14 months ago with the upcoming license due to run until February of 2034. Watford-headquartered Camelot UK Lotteries Limited has been responsible for the state-franchised enterprise ever since its inception 27 years ago and has steered the service into historically raising well over £43 billion ($59.2 billion) for in excess of 560,000 good causes.

Lucrative license:

Despite the disruption of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and Camelot UK Lotteries Limited recently detailed that its aggregated sales for the twelve months to the end of March had risen by around 5% year-on-year to top £8.3 billion ($11.5 billion). The firm additionally proclaimed that the same period saw National Lottery receipts surpass £8 billion ($11 billion) for the first time in order to allow it ‘to award more than £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in funding to good cause projects across the United Kingdom.’

Promoting prospects:

John Tanner serves as the Executive Director for the Gambling Commission body looking into the four tenders and he declared that the regulator is hoping to have made a final determination early next year in advance of allowing the latest licensee to take over National Lottery operations from February of 2024. He divulged that every one of the runners are to moreover be obliged to make an official in-person license presentation in the near future with help from global financial services firm Rothschild and Company.

Read a statement from Tanner…

“We are delighted by the final number of applications we have received, which is unprecedented since the start of the National Lottery. Our job is to run the best competition we possibly can; one that is open and fair and results in the best outcome for players and good causes. We look forward to appointing a licensee that will build on the National Lottery’s legacy and maximize the opportunities for innovation and creativity whilst protecting the special status of the National Lottery.”