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Camelot Group

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This article is about the British lottery company. For other uses of the Camelot name, see Camelot (disambiguation).

Camelot Group
Company typePrivate
IndustryLottery
Founded1994
Defunct2024
FateAcquired by Allwyn AG (replacement operator of the National Lottery)
HeadquartersWatford, England, UK
Area served
United Kingdom, Illinois
Key people
Sir Keith Mills (Chairman)
Clare Swindell & Neil Brocklehurst (joint MD) [1]
ProductsNational Lottery[N 1]
Illinois State Lottery[N 2]
RevenueIncrease £5.5 Billion GBP
Increase £47.2 Million GBP
Increase £32.4 Million GBP
Number of employees
1000
ParentAllwyn UK
Websitewww.camelotgroup.co.uk

The Camelot Group was an operator of lotteries, particularly the UK National Lottery from 1994 to 2024.[2]

It has also operated the Illinois State Lottery in the state of Illinois in the United States since 2018. The Camelot Group companies, of which Camelot UK Lotteries Limited is the UK National Lottery operating subsidiary, are owned by the holding company Premier Lotteries Investments UK Limited. The group's ultimate parent was the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, a Canadian investment fund until 2023 when Allwyn AG purchased Camelot.[3][4]

History

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Ticket stands for the UK National Lottery, operated by Camelot from 1994 to 2024

UK development

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Camelot was formed as a consortium to bid for the National Lottery project. The major partners were International Computers Limited (ICL), supplying hardware, software, and systems integration expertise; Racal with responsibility for the communications network; and Cadbury Schweppes bringing experience in consumer marketing and knowledge of the world of corner-shop retailers. De La Rue brought knowledge of secure printing technology, and GTECH Corporation were brought in as the selected supplier of applications software. Staff were seconded from the partner companies, transferring to Camelot Group when the bid was won.[5]

Senior executives such as Tim Holley were enticed to join the project by the promise of large bonuses if the bid was successful. This caused embarrassment later when the incoming Labour government, in particular Chris Smith, the Culture Secretary, publicly criticised Camelot and its executives for excessively lavish salaries and bonus payments.[6]

The Camelot Group was awarded the National Lottery franchise in May 1994.[7] It won the bid against Sir Richard Branson who proposed to create a not-for-profit structure, an idea that didn't seduce the Gambling Commission.[8]

The Camelot name is reflected in the actual lottery machines used in the National Lottery draw, which are named for characters, places, and objects in Arthurian Legend (Guinevere, Lancelot, Excalibur, Arthur, etc.).[9]

In 2004, the transnational lottery EuroMillions entered the UK lottery market.[8]

Camelot's third licence period started on 31 January 2009; the money given to good causes was increased, and retailers' commission increased from 5% to 6%. The third licence was for a ten-year period with the option to extend by a further five years.[10] In March 2009, Camelot announced a programme of redundancies to cut costs throughout the company.[11]

In March 2012, the National Lottery Commission extended Camelot's Licence by four years to 2023, on condition that Camelot deliver an additional £1.7 billion in lottery funding to good causes.[12]

In October 2013, Camelot doubled the ticket price of its main National Lottery game, Lotto, to £2, with the aim of increasing ticket sales.[13] Analysts noted that in the subsequent two-year period, funds raised for good causes by the National Lottery fell by £100 million.[14]

In November 2017, Nigel Railton was named CEO of the Camelot group in amidst falling lottery ticket sales. He was previously the company's finance director, and had served as interim CEO since the departure of Andy Duncan in April 2017.[15]

The Watford headquarters was previously the site of a Scammell Lorries Limited factory.[16]

International development

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In March 2010, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan from Canada bought Camelot for £389 million.[17][18]

In October 2013, Premier Lotteries Ireland, a consortium including the Camelot Group with An Post, won the licence to run Ireland's lottery for 20 years until 2034.[19]

In January 2018, the Camelot group became the new operator of the Illinois State Lottery in the United States. The state of Illinois was the first in the US to privatize its lottery system.[20]

Loss of licence

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A franchise renewal competition was started in 2019 and Camelot group faced multiple competing bids to maintain the contract, including one from Northern & Shell (operator of The Health Lottery).[21]

In March 2022 the Gambling commission announced that Camelot's National Lottery licence would not be renewed, and the franchise was awarded instead to Allwyn Entertainment Ltd, an international lottery operator owned by the Czech billionaire Karel Komárek. Camelot was held as the 'reserve applicant'.[22][23]

In November 2022, it was announced Allwyn Entertainment Ltd. had acquired Camelot UK Lotteries Limited from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.[24] The acquisition was completed in February 2023, after the deal was approved by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission.[4][25] Although Allwyn did not disclose the exact value of the acquisition, it was estimated at 100 million pounds.[26]

Earnings

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In 2017/18, the average pound (100p) spent on the National Lottery was distributed as follows:[27]

  • 55p Prize fund (50p in 2005)
  • 24p Good causes (28p in 2005)
  • 12p Government (12p in 2005)
  • 4p Retailers (5p in 2005)
  • 5p Camelot (5p in 2005)

According to the Camelot Group,[when?] the UK Lottery created 30 millionaires every month.[8]

Controversies

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2000/2001 franchise controversy

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Two companies competed for the National Lottery franchise in 2001: Camelot, the incumbent operator, and a rival operator called "The People's Lottery", organised by Sir Richard Branson.

During the 2000 franchise bidding process, a technical problem with lottery terminals supplied by American company GTECH Corporation came to light. It was discovered that this technical problem may have inadvertently caused winners to be paid incorrect amounts. Because of this problem and the relationship between Camelot and GTECH, the National Lottery Commission recommended that the lottery franchise be awarded to the People's Lottery. GTECH had been a shareholder in Camelot Group but they sold their shareholding to the remaining shareholders,[28] who increased their stakes from 16.66% to 20%.[29][30]

In August 2000, the chair of the National Lottery Commission, Dame Helena Shovelton, announced that neither party would be invited to run the National Lottery, claiming that neither party met the statutory requirements to run the lottery. It was felt that legal problems were responsible for the downfall of the People's Lottery bid, while the relationship between G-Tech and Camelot was the reason Camelot would not be invited to run the lottery.

By September 2000, it was clear that although neither party met the statutory requirements to run the lottery, the commission was going to award the franchise to the People's Lottery.[31][30] Camelot initiated legal action, taking the commission to the high court for a judicial review. The High Court judges sided with Camelot, describing the commission's decision as "conspicuously unfair". The National Lottery Commission responded by dismissing the HM Treasury legal team who had been advising them. Dame Helena resigned shortly afterwards and was replaced by Lord Burns.[32][30]

During November, the National Lottery Commission reopened the bidding process and both parties resubmitted their bids, the commission hoped to announce the winner by mid-December. On 19 December 2000 the commission announced that Camelot would be awarded the franchise, with voting 4–1 in favor of Camelot.[33] One member later resigned from the commission over the process, deeply unhappy that Camelot had been re-awarded the franchise. Sir Richard Branson threatened to take further legal action; but due to the prospect of a lengthy and costly legal battle, one which could have resulted in the National Lottery games being suspended, he did not proceed with the action.[30]

The governmental body the Gambling Commission is responsible for deciding who is awarded the franchise. The way the franchise was awarded to Camelot in 2001 caused some controversy, because state-owned Royal Mail held a 20% stake in the Camelot Group.[34]

2009 ticket fraud

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In 2009 Giles Knibbs, a Camelot employee, conspired with a member of the public, Edward Putman, to claim a jackpot prize using a bogus ticket. Knibbs, who worked in Camelot's fraud department, found a way to forge lottery tickets bearing unclaimed winning numbers. Putman, of Kings Langley in Hertfordshire, was initially prosecuted in July 2012 for benefit fraud after failing to declare lottery winnings of £5 million whilst in receipt of welfare benefits.[35]

Putman refused to give Knibbs £1m they had agreed, and had him arrested after a row over their agreement. Putman charged him with criminal damage, burglary and blackmail. In October 2015 Knibbs took his own life, fearful of repercussions over his actions.[36]

Although police did not have enough evidence to bring a prosecution against Putman at the time, the case was investigated by the Gambling Commission in December 2016, who found that Camelot had breached the terms of its operating licence in failing to investigate the veracity of the prize claim before paying out and fined Camelot £3 million.[37] The case was subsequently investigated further and in October 2019 Putman was jailed for 9 years for defrauding the National Lottery of £2.5 million.[36][38]

2018 failings fine

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In August 2018, the Camelot Group was fined £1.15 million by the Gambling Commission because of the malfunctioning mobile app launched by the group, and for failing to publish a complete raffle prize list. Among other things, the mobile app would apply a non-winning label on a user's winning numbers. The Commission fined Camelot for five major failings, and observed 10 other failings that did not lead to further penalties. The Camelot Group accepted the fine and said it was sorry.[39]

2022 failings fine

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In March 2022, the gambling commission announced a £3.15 million fine onto Camelot UK limited due to multiple failures on its mobile app. The failures included informing 20,000 players that their winning draw ticket had not won, charging players twice when only purchasing one ticket, and sending out marketing messages to 65,500 self-excluded customers who were not permitted to make purchases on the app.[40]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ The National Lottery brand is owned by the Gambling Commission and was licensed to Camelot as part of the franchise agreements under which Camelot operated The National Lottery.
  2. ^ The Illinois State Lottery, marketed as the Illinois Lottery, is a brand owned by the State of Illinois and marketed by Camelot on its behalf.

References

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  1. ^ Allwyn officially acquires Camelot's UK Lottery Solutions Group (https://www.casino.org/news/allwyn-completes-acquisition-of-uk-lottery-operator-camelot-uk/ Archived 10 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine) (Accessed 10 March 2023)
  2. ^ Hancock, Alice (14 November 2019). "UK National Lottery operator Camelot posts record first-half sales". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Group and Company Annual Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2019". Premier Lotteries Investments UK Limited.
  4. ^ a b "CAMELOT STATEMENT ON ACQUISITION COMPLETION". Camelot Group. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  5. ^ Douglas, Andrew (December 2001). The National Lottery and Its Regulation: Process, Problems, and Personalities. A&C Black. p. 121. ISBN 9780826455543. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Interview - Chris Smith". The New Statesman. 8 November 1999. Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Breaking News, World News & Multimedia". Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Andrews, Mark (24 May 2019). "The National Lottery: It could still be you, 25 years on". www.shropshirestar.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  9. ^ Storry, Mike; Childs, Peter (25 November 2016). British Cultural Identities. Routledge. ISBN 9781315440583. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Camelot wins third lottery licence". Daily Express. 7 August 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  11. ^ "Camelot in lottery job cuts plan". BBC News. 13 March 2009. Archived from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Chairman's & Chief Executive's statements for the year ended 31 March 2015" (PDF). Camelot UK Lotteries Limited. June 2015. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  13. ^ "National Lottery Lotto ticket price doubles to £2". BBC News. 3 October 2013. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  14. ^ Farey-Jones, Daniel (22 June 2015). "National Lottery good-cause money has fallen by £100m since the Lotto ticket price doubled". Third Sector. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  15. ^ Ahmed, Murad (21 November 2017). "Camelot overhauls lottery as ticket sales fall". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Scammell Centenary Gathering & Road Run – the Scammell Register". Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  17. ^ "BBC News - National Lottery owner Camelot sold to Canada teachers". BBC News. 25 March 2010. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  18. ^ Brummer, Alex (2013). Britain for Sale: British Companies in Foreign Hands - The Hidden Threat to Our Economy. Random House. p. 249. ISBN 9781847940766. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  19. ^ Smyth, Jamie (4 October 2013). "Camelot and An Post picked to run Ireland's lottery". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  20. ^ Sara Burnett. "Illinois Lottery's new manager projects $4B in sales". The State Journal-Register. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  21. ^ "Coming for Camelot: The battle to land the UK's National Lottery". BBC News. 27 December 2021. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Camelot to lose licence to run National Lottery". BBC News. 15 March 2022. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Camelot to lose licence to run UK national lottery after 28 years". The Guardian. 15 March 2022. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  24. ^ "UK's next National Lottery operator Allwyn acquires Camelot UK". uk.finance.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  25. ^ "Allwyn Receives Go-Ahead to Acquire Camelot UK". Casinoreviews.net. 24 January 2023. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  26. ^ "UK's next National Lottery operator Allwyn acquires Camelot UK". Reuters.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  27. ^ "Gambling Commission website". Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  28. ^ Atkinson, Dan (17 January 2000). "GTech is back with Camelot". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  29. ^ Commons, The Committee Office, House of. "House of Commons - Culture, Media and Sport - Minutes of Evidence". www.publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ a b c d "At a glance: Lottery saga". BBC News. 10 January 2001. Archived from the original on 2 October 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  31. ^ "National Lottery: Why the bids failed". BBC News. 23 August 2000. Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  32. ^ "Lottery chairman resigns over 'media insults'". Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2000. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  33. ^ "The lottery commission's statement". The Guardian. 19 December 2000. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  34. ^ "The lottery's winners and losers". BBC News. 3 November 2004. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  35. ^ Cockerell, Jennifer (3 July 2012). "Lottery winner rapist Edward Putman admits fraud". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  36. ^ a b "Conman jailed for £2.5m fake lottery ticket fraud". BBC News. 4 October 2019. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  37. ^ Marston, Rebecca (16 December 2016). "National Lottery firm Camelot fined for £2.5m suspect ticket win". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  38. ^ "Man convicted over £2.5m National Lottery fake ticket fraud". The Guardian. 4 October 2019. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  39. ^ McCormick, Myles (23 August 2018). "UK National Lottery operator Camelot fined £1.15m by regulator". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  40. ^ "National Lottery operator to pay £3.15m fine". Gambling Commission. 22 March 2022. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
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