News
National Lottery Commission announces Preferred Bidder for Third National Lottery Licence
7 August 2007
Dr Anne Wright CBE
Chair, National Lottery Commission:
'Following a hard-fought competition with high quality bids and six months of rigorous evaluation, I am pleased to announce that the National Lottery Commission has selected Camelot Group plc as the preferred bidder to operate the third National Lottery licence. In addition, we have selected Sugal & Damani UK Ltd as the Reserve Bidder.
The Commission received two strong Bids from Camelot Group plc and Sugal & Damani UK Ltd which have both met the seven required standards. Camelot Group plc was selected after rigorous scrutiny as the bid most likely to generate the best returns to good causes over the 10 year Licence on the basis of its sales and marketing strategies.
This decision is the culmination of a two year competition process and we are now looking forward to working with Camelot Group plc to finalise the
terms of the licence and enter an into an enabling agreement.
Thanks to the competition, we will see an increase in the money raised for good causes which will bring benefits to communities and projects across the UK. We will also see new technology which is fit for the future - 26,300 new terminals to replace the existing ones and an additional 1,300 will be introduced. Players will enjoy new games and ways to play whilst being able to remain confident that the National Lottery Commission will be ensuring high standards of integrity and player protection.
The two bids were of exceptional quality and, on behalf of the National Lottery Commission, I would like to thank both Camelot Group plc and Sugal & Damani UK Ltd for the hard work that was put into their submissions. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to those stakeholders who have provided important insights and feedback to ensure a fair, open and transparent competition process.
Our job now is to finalise the details and award the Licence by the end of August. We will then manage the smooth transition to the new licence, starting on 1 February 2009, in order to ensure that the UK continues to have one of most successful lotteries in the world.'
Geoffrey Godbold, OBE TD DL
Chief Executive, GamCare:
'We welcome the Commission's decision that Camelot is the preferred bidder to operate the third lottery licence. GamCare looks forward to continuing a successful working relationship with Camelot on their social responsibility programme.
We have been impressed with their proactive and socially responsible approach to protecting the vulnerable.'