The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has announced it will introduce a new licensing condition to block UK players from placing bets on EuroMillions games which take place outside the UK.
The ruling addresses operators such as Lottoland, which essentially take bets on foreign lottery drawings. The department conducted a review after complaints from National Lottery operator Camelot that Lottoland bets were undercutting its own EuroMillions revenue by not matching its higher ticket prices.
The department acknowledged that lottery betting was a new product, but said revenue dedicated to social causes could decline if lottery betting become “widespread,” though is acknowledged that there is no research on that issue.
The department was also concerned that customers are being misled as to the nature of lottery betting. It pointed to a recent survey that showed that over 60 percent of participants thought that they were buying a ticket for the UK EuroMillions draw, rather than placing a bet on the outcome of a foreign EuroMillions draw.
In June, the UK Gambling Commission fined Lottoland £150,000 for deceptive advertising that did not clarify that customers were betting on the outcome of a lottery draw and not actually taking part in a lottery.
The department said is “mindful of the effect on impacted businesses” like Lottoland, and thus it will “tailor the license condition to ensure it is in line with our aims to reduce consumer confusion.”
Lottoland CEO Nigel Birrell called the decision “unjustified” and would set “a dangerous precedent for policy-making on the basis of no evidence,” according to a report at CalvinAyre.com.
