Could The National Lottery as we know it be coming to an end?

After 28 years, The National Lottery operator Camelot seems to be at risk of losing the license to Britains favourite gambling activity. The Gambling Commission has recently named Allwyn Entertainment as its “preferred applicant” in the bid to win the lucrative contract.

The search for a new lottery operator has been running for some time, with Camelot receiving an extension of 3 months back in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Camelot has run The National Lottery in its current form since 1994, so most of the UK will be very accustomed to the game in its current form, but with a new company behind the wheel by 2024, there could be big changes on the cards.

That's not to say that the game hasn't had some significant changes recently, the minimum age to play was raised from 16 to 18 back in 2020, though there are still some who would say that The National Lottery in its current form gets special treatment with the way it advertises. Yes, we mean us. How much Allwyn Entertainment will do to mix up the game further, is yet to be discussed.

Not all hope is lost for Camelot however, as the UKGC still has them as a reserve candidate in case it falls through with Allwyn. Still, must not feel great to be a backup after doing the job for nearly 3 decades. Especially after reporting record earnings back in 2019.

In fact, Camelot’s CEO Nigel Railton has said he is “incredibly disappointed” by the UKGCs decision, but is aware that the Camelot team “still have a critical job to do” in the next 2 years before the change takes place.

Allywn Entertainment currently operates lotteries in Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus and Italy, so it is definitely not an underdog pick. Founded in 2011 as SAZKA a.s, the company became Allywn Entertainment in 2021.