Camelot Loses High Court Battle to Health Lottery

The operator of the National Lottery, Camelot, has lost a High Court battle to stop its rival, Health Lottery, from operating.

Camelot took the Gambling Commission to court after they granted the Health Lottery a license to operate in the UK. The Health Lottery was created last year by Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell in order to raise funds to UK health charities.

Camelot has said that it intends to appeal which it considers to be a “legally-flawed and unfair decision by the court.” Desmond on the other hand believes that Camelot’s case is a “waste of time”. He says that the Health Lottery raises £500,000 a week for charities in a way that was “not at all similar” to the National Lottery.

Camelot believes that the Health Lottery is a rival to the National Lottery and because of that it goes against the National Lottery Act of 1993 which permits just one national lottery. 

The Health Lottery organises draws on the behalf of 51 organisations and charities in what are known as society lotteries.

While Camelot are calling for a judicial review, the Health Lottery is saying that while they have raised over £22m for charity, the top prize is £100,000 and it isn’t “remotely comparable” to the National Lottery.