Sky Bet owner Flutter sets sights on National Lottery takeover
The race to take over the National Lottery, one of the UK’s most lucrative public sector contracts, is heating up in the final stretch.
With a final decision from the UK’s gambling authority expected as soon as this month, prospective suitors are jostling for the win.
Sky Bet owner Flutter Entertainment this week wrote to the Gambling Commission stressing the importance of the contract remaining in the hands of a UK-based company. The British gambling giant has made a play for control of the National Lottery through a £1.6bn purchase of Sisal, a contender in the takeover race, due to be finalised later this year.
In a letter to the Gambling Commission this week, Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said there should be “no doubt as to Flutter’s commitment through Sisal to the future success of the lottery,” the Telegraph first reported.
Meanwhile, British Peer Lord Coe quit the House of Lords late Saturday after taking up a non-executive role in September at Czech contender Allwyn, formerly known as Sazka Entertainment.
Another front runner in the race, Allwyn has set its sights on becoming the UK’s lottery operator after snapping up control of Greece’s provider.
While sources close to the former Olympic gold medalist, Lord Coe, claim his decision to exit the House of Lords was unconnected to Allwyn’s takeover bid, the company is clearly stepping up its efforts in the final leg of the race. Allwyn has enlisted a team which includes the former Sainsbury’s boss Justin King to spearhead its takeover bid.
Both companies will face stiff competition from incumbent Camelot, which has controlled the National Lottery since its inception in 1997, and the media tycoon Richard Desmond who owns the Express newspaper and runs the Health Lottery.
The Gambling Commission, which is overseeing the process, and will determine the winner based on scorecards assessing the strength of each bid, has banned bidders from talking about their plans publicly. However, the contestants are likely to end up airing their grievances in court once the decision is made, with both Allwyn and Camelot reportedly arming themselves with the UK’s leading QCs.
The National Lottery, which has made 6,300 people millionaires in its 27 year history, reported sales of £8.3bn for the financial year which ended 31 March 2021, an increase of £468.8m year-on-year.
Read more: Debate intensifies around the ‘morality’ of the National Lottery as a new licence decision looms