Richard Desmond’s protracted effort to challenge the decision regarding the awarding of the fourth National Lottery license has culminated in a significant defeat, as the High Court dismissed a £1.3 billion damages claim he filed against the Gambling Commission.

Desmond’s New Lottery Company, alongside Northern & Shell, contended that the regulator conducted a flawed competition when it granted the ten-year operating contract to Allwyn, the gaming company headed by Czech billionaire Karel Komárek. Allwyn succeeded Camelot, which had held the license since the lottery’s inception in 1994, when the new arrangement took effect.

In a judgment that will resonate throughout Whitehall, Westminster, and the broader regulated gambling industry, Mrs. Justice Joanna Smith found no merit in Desmond’s primary claims. She stated, “The claimants have failed to make out any case of manifest error on the part of the commission in their process claim.”

She asserted that neither Camelot nor Allwyn should have been disqualified from the tender Camelot on the basis of alleged incumbency advantage and Allwyn due to supposed conflict of interest. “The competition that was conducted for the award of the fourth licence reached a lawful outcome,” the judge concluded. Despite the setback, the claimants remain resolute. A spokesperson for Northern & Shell expressed a firm stance: “They won. We lost. We appeal. It’s not over.”