Camelot, the outgoing operator of the U.K. National Lottery, has dropped its legal challenge to the transfer of the license to Allwyn, its competitor.
In light of the move, Allwyn dropped its counterclaim against Camelot for damages due to the delay of the £6.4 billion contract.
Camelot, which has run the National Lottery since 1994, is still suing the U.K. Gambling Commission for granting the license to Allwyn in the first place. The lawsuit claims the award to Allwyn was “badly wrong.” The lawsuit led to the automatic blocking of the license transfer to Allwyn, and the temporary suspension of the lottery.
The High Court subsequently lifted the suspension that prevented the license transfer, and Camelot appealed this decision. It is the appeal that Camelot dropped last week.
“It has become clear that the potential damages covered by the undertakings needed for the appeal to proceed would have been too large, and involved too great a commercial risk, for it to be reasonable to provide them,” Camelot said in a statement.
Camelot is proceeding with its main legal claim challenging the decision to award the lottery license to Allwyn. A trial is set for February 2023. Camelot will ask for an estimated £500 million in damages.
