Jeff Bezos, founder of online retailer Amazon, once considered making a bid to operate the United Kingdom National Lottery.
Sources told the Sunday Mail newspaper that preliminary discussions were held, but Amazon opted not to proceed. The British Gambling Commission is reportedly interested in widening the search for the next lottery operator to include digital tech companies.
Others said to be eyeing the opportunity are Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, former publisher and Health Lottery operator Sir Richard Desmond, Czech businessman Karel Komarek, whose Sazka Group runs lotteries throughout the EU, Australia’s Tabcorp, France’s Française des Jeux and Dutch firm Novomedia.
Current operator Camelot, which has held the license since 1994, hopes to stay on as operator when its franchise ends in 2023.
According to iGamingBusiness.com, the delay in the bidding has been criticized by potential bidders, who say it reduces the chances of a serious challenge to Camelot’s tenure.
