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Written question asked by Alex Davies-Jones (Labour) on Friday, 25 March 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 30 March 2022 (named day). It was answered by Chris Philp (Conservative) on Wednesday, 30 March 2022 on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Allwyn Entertainment: National Lottery

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish her Department's correspondence with the Gambling Commission with reference to their decision to appoint Allwyn, a company with reported links to the Russian regime, as the preferred organisation to run the next licence for the National Lottery.

Answer

The competition to operate the 4th National Lottery licence is run by the Gambling Commission. In accordance with the relevant legislation, the decision to appoint Allwyn as the preferred bidder was made by the Commission’s Board. DCMS and Ministers have not been involved in the decision making process, nor have they discussed or corresponded with the Commission about who the licence should be awarded to.

We do not have any plans to publish correspondence between the Department and the Gambling Commission.

It is the Gambling Commission’s responsibility to regulate the National Lottery and appoint a licensee that will operate the National Lottery with all due propriety. To satisfy this duty, fit and proper checks were carried out during the competition and will be maintained throughout the transition and licence term. These checks consider the identity, integrity, criminality and financial integrity of those operating or benefitting from the National Lottery (or applying to do so) and include enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks. Where an individual was based overseas, checks were carried out against information provided by the relevant police report. In addition, the Commission reviewed the funding structures for all applicants, including Allwyn, and is satisfied that no sanctioned entities are involved in funding the proposed licensee.

Standard vetting checks (BPSS level - Baseline Personnel Security Standard) are being carried out by UK Security Vetting on key people connected with the preferred applicant’s proposal. These include Qualifying Direct Shareholders, which is any person that holds at least 5% interest in the Licensee. This vetting process has already started and is expected to take 8 – 10 weeks to complete. Full details of what is included in a BPSS level check is outlined on the UKSV website.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
147117
Session
2021-22
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Licensing National Lottery Russia Allwyn Entertainment
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk