Licence competition

1. What was the licence competition?

The second Licence expired on 31 January 2009. In order to ensure the continuity of the lottery a competition was initiated in 2005 with the preferred bidder, Camelot, announced in August 2007

2. How did the Licence Competition Work?

In June 2006, we issued our invitation to bid for the Licence to operate the National Lottery from 1 February 2009. Our requirements for bids and details of the criteria against which they were evaluated are set out in the Invitation to Apply (ITA). The deadline for submission of bids was 9 February 2007.

In August 2007 we announced our preferred bidder, Camelot, we then entered into negotiations to finalise the terms of the Licence itself. Following the award of the Licence, there was a transition period of 17 months, which allowed Camelot to have systems in place for the start of the third Licence on 1 February 2009.

3. Who bid?

Camelot Group plc and Sugal & Damani UK Limited submitted bids to the Commission.

4. How were the bids evaluated?

We evaluated the bids against the criteria set out in the Invitation to Apply (ITA). We set out seven Required Standards, which bidders had to meet. These required standards ensure high standards of propriety and player protection will be met. Once we were satisfied that they had been met, we  made our decision based on which bid we believed would provide the greatest possible returns for good causes.

5. What was the time frame for the competition process?

Invitation to Apply – June 2006
Deadline for submission of Bids – 9 February 2007
Evaluation of bids – 12 February – end June 2007
Announcement of preferred bidder – end June 2007
Licence finalised and awarded – August 2007
Transition period – until 31 January 2009
Start of third Licence – 1 February 2009

6. Why have a licence Competition?

The purpose of the Competition is to maximise the money raised for good causes, subject to ensuring that the Lottery is run and promoted with all due propriety and that the interests of players are protected.

Since its launch in 1994, the National Lottery has raised over £24 billion for good causes throughout the UK. One of our priorities is to maximise those returns to good causes and the competition is an important part of that process.

Related Links

• Licence competitions

  The National Lottery Commission is responsible for awarding a single licence to a commercial operator to run the National Lottery for the benefit of the nation.

  We do this by running international competitions for the licence and inviting consortia to bid for the opportunity.