Gambling Commission Accused Of Foul Play In Czech Billionaire’s National Lottery Bid

The British Gambling Commission has been accused of foul play in Czech billionaire Karel Komárek’s successful bid to run the National Lottery. Fellow billionaire and media mogul Richard Desmond is suing the Gambling Commission for as much as £1.3 billion over alleged mistakes in the competition to award the licence. Desmond claims the watchdog told […]

by - Tuesday, October 21st, 2025 9:49

The British Gambling Commission has been accused of foul play in Czech billionaire Karel Komárek’s successful bid to run the National Lottery.

Fellow billionaire and media mogul Richard Desmond is suing the Gambling Commission for as much as £1.3 billion over alleged mistakes in the competition to award the licence.

Desmond claims the watchdog told Komárek’s Allwyn group that its proposed 10% fee for running the lottery was too high, arguing those comments were against the rules and gave Allwyn an unfair advantage as no other bidder received feedback on this element of their bid.

During a High Court hearing on Monday, Desmond’s New Lottery Company – which was unsuccessful in its bid to run the National Lottery – presented its case against the Gambling Commission.

Desmond is the former owner of the Daily Express, Channel 5 and a number of adult magazines. He believes the regulator made “manifest errors” during the process.

Earlier this year, the National Lottery was shut down for a weekend as Allwyn implemented the biggest upgrade to the game’s technology since it launched in 1994.

The allegations concern the cut that Allwyn proposed to take from running the lottery, better known as the ‘operator share of surplus’ when attempting to tie down the ten-year contract.

Allwyn declared plans to keep 10% of the money made from the contract with the rest going to good causes – but the Gambling Commission allegedly provided feedback to the firm, stating that the 10% fee appears to be high in the context of its business plan.

Lawyers for the Gambling Commission responded by claiming it was entitled to give feedback on any “weaknesses, omissions, ambiguities” relating to a bid.

The regulator’s former commercial director who oversaw the licence competition, Andrew Wilson, said he thought the 10% figure as either an error or a placeholder as it was “suspiciously round in number” and around double the top end of the expected range.

Desmond’s legal representation are of the belief the Gambling Commission failed to correctly apply its “fit and proper” test, pointing towards Komárek’s business links to russia.

Komárek cut ties with Russian state-owned energy firm Gazprom last year. Desmond’s case argues the regulator made “substantial” changes to the licence after it was awarded to Allwyn, which should have resulted in a rerun of the competition.

Joe Lyons

Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.