Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which companies have been shortlisted to operate the third licence for the National Lottery.

The competition for the third National Lottery licence was run by the National Lottery Commission, which was merged with the Gambling Commission in October 2013. The Commission announced the outcome of the competition on 7th August 2007.

The Commission received two strong applications for the third licence, from Camelot Group plc and Sugal & Damani UK Ltd. Both bids met the seven demanding Required Standards outlined by the Commission in the Invitation to Apply (ITA). Camelot Group plc was selected as the Preferred Bidder and was awarded the third licence to start from February 2009. Camelot Group plc were considered best able to maximise returns to good causes over the term of the Licence. The published ‘Statement of Reasons’ which discusses the outcome in more detail can be found through the National Archives website.

The Gambling Commission launched the competition for the fourth National Lottery licence on 28 August 2020. The next licence comes into force in August 2023. The Commission’s priority is to run a fair and robust competition and, given that the competition is underway, it would not be appropriate to name, or comment on, organisations that are participating in the competition. The preferred applicant for the fourth licence is expected to be announced at the end of the year.