Court of Appeal refuses appeal in £1bn national lottery procurement claim

The High Court heard the claim, brought by the New Lottery Company Limited (TNLC) and Northern and Shell PLC (N&S PLC), over a series of dates in 2025 and 2026, before dismissing it in April.

Mrs Justice Joanna Smith rejected the challenge, after finding the claimants had "failed to make out any case of manifest error on the part of the commission" regarding its process.

She also found that they had failed to prove the commission had breached the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016.

The case centred around the commission's award of the contract to Allwyn in March 2022, following a two-year-long procurement process, described by the claimants as the “most financially significant procurement process in UK history”.

The claimants sought damages of in excess of £1 billion in compensation for lost profits.

Both claimants later applied to the Court of Appeal on three grounds. However, all three grounds have now been dismissed, according to the Gambling Commission.

The commission reported that Lord Justice Coulson concluded that TNLC should not be permitted to raise a new legal argument in particular where it amounted to running an argument expressly ruled out in the High Court.

He also found that even on some lesser standard of proof, the TNLC’s prospects of success would have been vanishingly small, the Commission said.

TNLC suffered no loss in practical terms, the judge also noted.

A Commission spokesperson said it ran a fair and robust competition to award the Fourth National Lottery Licence and “that none of the contested changes to the Licence, in the course of its implementation, were substantial or contrary to the relevant procurement regulations”.

It added: "The decision gives resounding support to good causes by enabling Allwyn, with oversight from the Commission, to continue with their plans for investment in The National Lottery without further distraction. Our priority remains to continue regulating The National Lottery for the benefit of participants and good causes."

Adam Carey

See also: Analysis of the “process claim” in The New Lottery Company Limited v The Gambling Commission and Allwyn and Post award modifications: Analysis of the “Modifications Claim” in TNLC v The Gambling Commission [2026] EWHC 891 (TCC).