Enforcement

What is Enforcement?

In 2009 the Commission issued a licence for Camelot Group Ltd to run the Lottery for the next ten years. This licence sets out how the Lottery should be run so that it is fair, players are safe and subject to those considerations it makes as much money as possible for good causes. But our role doesn’t end there. We have to make sure that players and the money for good causes continue to be protected.

If we find out the operator has broken (or in legal terms ‘breached’) the licence, we can then take action to enforce the licence and make sure actions are taken to put matters right.

Why is it important?

The licence is the way that we are able to hold the operator to account and make sure that the Lottery is run in the interests of the Nation. It is important that we enforce the licence and take regulatory action so that players are protected and can trust the Lottery.

How does Enforcement work at the Commission?

Our Enforcement team will investigate any potential breach in the licence. We normally find out about a potential problem either by being told directly by Camelot, from the Commission’s compliance checks or from a complaint by a Lottery player. The Enforcement team will investigate what happened and decide what action needs to be taken.

When a breach takes place, we publish on our website details of what happened and what action was taken to put the problem right. If there is no licence breach, we may still choose to publish details of our investigation if we feel that the public or people affected should know.

How do we decide what is the right enforcement action?

We always aim to be fair and proportionate with our enforcement action. Our Enforcement Policy sets out in more detail how we decide what is the right action to take. You can download a copy of the Enforcement Policy from the left-hand side of this page.

What kinds of action do we take?

You can look at past enforcement cases by clicking the links below.

• Licence breaches

  Licence breaches resulting in enforcement action are listed on our website and are also reported in our Annual Reports. We explain the particular licence condition that has been breached, a description of the breach, the action that we have taken.

• Other Reports

  From time to time the Commission will publish reports about regulatory investigations we have carried out that did not result in a licence breach. In these cases we may still choose to publish details of our investigation if we feel that the public or people affected should know.

Related Links

• Licence breaches

  Licence breaches resulting in enforcement action are listed on our website and are also reported in our Annual Reports. We explain the particular licence condition that has been breached, a description of the breach, the action that we have taken.

Related downloads

• Enforcement Policy

  The Commission’s Enforcement Policy

  (pdf - 2.552mb)