The UK Gambling Commission is reportedly considering a mediation meeting with Richard Desmond’s Northern and Shell over its National Lottery licensing dispute. Desmond’s company sought £200m over the decision to award the fourth licence to Allwyn; no settlement amount has been confirmed.
A settlement could affect the legal challenge to the UK National Lottery licence award.
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Bedfordshire and Luton senior coroner Emma Whitting has called for the National Lottery to be included in GAMSTOP after an inquest into Stephen Goff’s death. The UK Gambling Commission said it would consider changes and was discussing further consumer protections with Allwyn and GAMSTOP.
A coroner wants the National Lottery in the United Kingdom placed on the list of services that gambling opt-outs exclude people from. The UKGC, speaking through a spokesperson, indicated it may weigh further changes, possibly including a wider reach for Gamstop.
The UK's National Audit Office has begun a review of the fourth National Lottery licence, examining how the Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport designed and awarded it and oversaw the transition from Camelot to Allwyn. The report is expected in spring 2027. Allwyn took over operation in February 2024.
Reportedly, the National Audit Office has started examining the current National Lottery licence. The public spending watchdog plans to assess whether the Gambling Commission's supervision is producing the strongest achievable benefits for good causes now that Allwyn UK has run the lottery since February 2024. Findings are due in spring 2027.
Sarah Gardner, the Gambling Commission’s interim chief executive, praised Allwyn’s player-protection measures at a company conference in the UK. She said the National Lottery raised £1.7bn for good causes in the past year and described Allwyn’s new online safeguards as positive, while noting early implementation difficulties.
UK Gambling Commission acting chief executive Sarah Gardner called on Allwyn UK to increase National Lottery returns for good causes while maintaining player protections, according to a report of her conference remarks. Allwyn generated £1.8bn for good causes in 2025/26, while sales fell 12.5% year on year in the first quarter of 2026/27. Gardner said the technology upgrade created opportunities to improve safeguards, despite transition problems.
The Gambling Commission published annual gambling statistics for Great Britain covering April 2025 to March 2026. National Lottery sales reached £7.935bn, up 0.9% year on year, while sales for other lotteries rose 5.7% to £1.171bn. The consumer-facing gambling sector generated £17.5bn in gross gambling yield, an increase of 4.4%.