Can I thank my hon. Friend, and just say what an incredible job the national lottery has done delivering £45 billion to good causes? He is right that the fourth licence will ensure operator profits are better aligned with returns to good causes. I would also say, on the specific points he makes, that I understand that Allwyn’s owner, Mr Komárek, who has long criticised the Putin regime, is in discussions with the Czech Republic Government regarding the joint venture with Gazprom and removing its involvement.

Camelot is one of the largest employers in Watford and for Watford, and its employees have worked tirelessly to run the national lottery successfully for decades, playing an important role in communities across the UK with many local projects and good

causes, including in my constituency. I obviously declare an interest in the Gambling Commission’s decision yesterday not to appoint the licence to Camelot, but given the current situation in Ukraine, does my right hon. Friend consider it appropriate that the next licensee of the operator of the national lottery is known to have a joint venture with Gazprom?

Camelot is the licensee for the current licence to run the National Lottery. The Department meets with them regularly and on an ad hoc basis to discuss issues relating to their operation of the Third National Lottery licence and these meetings may include both senior and working level civil servants.

All ministerial meetings are published on GOV.UK and can be accessed on the website.

Additionally the Directors General for Culture, Sport and Civil Society held an introductory meeting with Matt Ridsdale, Executive Director and Nigel Railton, CEO of Camelot on 9 March 2021.

The operation of the National Lottery and the distribution of good cause income are two separate processes. Camelot, as the current operator of the National Lottery, has no involvement with or responsibility for the distribution of good cause income raised by the National Lottery.

Good cause income is distributed at arm’s length of the government by 12 Lottery Distributing Bodies, to fund projects in the arts, sport and heritage sectors and to support communities and charities across the whole of the United Kingdom.

Since 1994, the National Lottery has raised over £45 billion for good causes. Over 660,000 individual grants have been awarded since the National Lottery started - the equivalent of more than 235 lottery grants in every UK postcode district. More detailed information about National Lottery grants can be found at the National Lottery grants database website. Due to technical limitations, this database does not incorporate more recent National Lottery grant data. We hope to have this resolved in the Spring.

Camelot publishes aggregated National Lottery sales data two months in arrears on their website. More granular data, for example analysed by region, not published due to commercial sensitivities.

Camelot, as the current operator of the National Lottery, has no involvement with or responsibility for the distribution of good cause income raised by the National Lottery.

Good cause income is distributed at arm’s length from the government by 12 Lottery Distributing Bodies, to fund projects in the arts, sport and heritage sectors and to support communities and charities across the whole of the United Kingdom.

The Department has ongoing engagement with the Lottery Distributing Bodies on how their funding can continue to support the government's objective of levelling up opportunity across the United Kingdom. The Levelling Up White Paper will give more detail on the government's plans when it is published in due course.

Communities across the whole of the United Kingdom benefit from the good cause income raised by the National Lottery. In 2020/21 this was £1.833 billion, and since 1994 when the National Lottery was launched a total of £43 billion has been raised.

There are currently no plans to require the National Lottery operator to publish a regional breakdown of sales.

The Gambling Commision is the independent regulator of the National Lottery and one of its statutory duties is to ensure that the interests of all players are protected, alongside ensuring the National Lottery is run with due propriety and that returns to good causes are maximised.

Monitoring is therefore an ongoing process and the Gambling Commission has undertaken an extensive amount of work in this area since 2010. As a result, it is not possible to collate and publish this information in its entirety.

The Gambling Commission publishes details of significant regulatory decisions and the rationale supporting those decisions on its website here:

https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/about-us/guide/licence-to-run-the-national-lottery.

In addition, wider data and research relating to the National Lottery, such as statistics around participation rates, can be found on the Gambling Commission’s website here:

https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/about-us/statistics-and-research.

The third National Lottery licence contains a provision which allows the Gambling Commission, as the sector regulator, to extend the duration of this Licence for a period of six months. A maximum of two extensions are permitted.

The Gambling Commission decided to enact the first six-month extension to the third licence, due to the impact of the pandemic on the fourth National Lottery licence competition. The licence was extended on existing terms of the Third National Lottery licence. More information can be found on their website, here.

The third National Lottery licence requires the operator to implement player protection strategies to prevent underage and excessive play which must be approved by the Gambling Commission.

The Gambling Commission then adopts a variety of measures to monitor, assess and challenge the National Lottery operator’s player protection performance. This includes detailed monitoring to identify risks to players, and where appropriate, undertaking strategic reviews of areas of the portfolio which are identified as higher (but not necessarily high) risk.

The Gambling Commission is also responsible for approving proposed changes to National Lottery games where it carries out thorough assessments of National Lottery game change proposals in line with its statutory duties, including ensuring that such proposals do not present risks from a player protection perspective.

Evidence from the latest (2018) Health Survey for England shows that National Lottery games were associated with the lowest rates of problem gambling of all gambling products considered.

The third National Lottery licence contains a provision which allows the Gambling Commission, as the sector regulator, to extend the duration of this Licence for a period of six months. A maximum of two extensions are permitted.

The Gambling Commission decided to enact the first six-month extension to the third licence, due to the impact of the pandemic on the fourth National Lottery licence competition. The licence was extended on existing terms of the Third National Lottery licence. More information can be found on their website, here.

The third National Lottery licence requires the operator to implement player protection strategies to prevent underage and excessive play which must be approved by the Gambling Commission.

The Gambling Commission then adopts a variety of measures to monitor, assess and challenge the National Lottery operator’s player protection performance. This includes detailed monitoring to identify risks to players, and where appropriate, undertaking strategic reviews of areas of the portfolio which are identified as higher (but not necessarily high) risk.

The Gambling Commission is also responsible for approving proposed changes to National Lottery games where it carries out thorough assessments of National Lottery game change proposals in line with its statutory duties, including ensuring that such proposals do not present risks from a player protection perspective.

Evidence from the latest (2018) Health Survey for England shows that National Lottery games were associated with the lowest rates of problem gambling of all gambling products considered.

The third National Lottery licence contains a provision which allows the Gambling Commission, as the sector regulator, to extend the duration of this Licence for a period of six months. A maximum of two extensions are permitted.

The Gambling Commission decided to enact the first six-month extension to the third licence, due to the impact of the pandemic on the fourth National Lottery licence competition. The licence was extended on existing terms of the Third National Lottery licence. More information can be found on their website, here.

The third National Lottery licence requires the operator to implement player protection strategies to prevent underage and excessive play which must be approved by the Gambling Commission.

The Gambling Commission then adopts a variety of measures to monitor, assess and challenge the National Lottery operator’s player protection performance. This includes detailed monitoring to identify risks to players, and where appropriate, undertaking strategic reviews of areas of the portfolio which are identified as higher (but not necessarily high) risk.

The Gambling Commission is also responsible for approving proposed changes to National Lottery games where it carries out thorough assessments of National Lottery game change proposals in line with its statutory duties, including ensuring that such proposals do not present risks from a player protection perspective.

Evidence from the latest (2018) Health Survey for England shows that National Lottery games were associated with the lowest rates of problem gambling of all gambling products considered.

Government does not hold figures relating to bids for the third licence to operate the National Lottery.

The National Lottery Commission awarded the third licence to the operator which was assessed as being the most likely to maximise returns to good causes, and able to run the National Lottery with due propriety and to protect the interests of participants.

Further information on how awarding of the third licence was conducted can be found in the National Lottery Commission’s report on the third licence competition published in 2008. The report can be accessed here.

My answer to your question on 14 May 2021 (PQ1419), gives a breakdown of good cause income for each year of the National Lottery’s operation.

The National Lottery is regulated by the Gambling Commission. The operator is permitted to seek joint investments in line with Condition 23 of Section 5 of the Third National Lottery Licence.

Details of requests for joint investments, the Commission’s decisions in response and the rationale supporting those decisions can be found on the Commission’s website.

In addition the Gambling Commission has provided the following information. In March 2021 the Commission approved a proposal from the operator for joint investment in National Lottery marketing of £69.4 million (£65.3 million of this was investment from the National Lottery Distribution Fund), with this being allocated as follows:

• £25.7 million to support an investment in marketing of the National Lottery brand. This will be invested to support the long-term health of the National Lottery by driving positivity, loyalty and an emotional connection to the brand.

• £37.3 million to support an investment in marketing of Lotto and EuroMillions.

• £6.4 million to support an investment in marketing of Set for Life.

This approval was granted having considered the Commission’s statutory duties in relation to the National Lottery. Specifically, the Commission identified no material risks to its two primary duties regarding propriety and players Interests and has a high level of assurance that the proposal will be beneficial in relation to maximising returns to good causes, particularly over the long-term.

The two investments referenced (in WPQ 14100 and 14101) focus on additional marketing to support the National Lottery brand. Specifically, the investments were targeted to support the long-term health of the National Lottery by driving positivity, loyalty and an emotional connection to the brand.

For each investment of this nature, the Commission undertakes a robust analytical assessment, as well as negotiation with the operator to ensure the best possible deal for good causes. The performance of such investments is then monitored by the Commission regularly after implementation. For brand investments, this is achieved through:

• Assessing extensive econometric analysis developed by the operator, which is subsequently assured externally and provides evidence of the positive impact of the investment on returns to good causes in the short term.

• Monitoring a wider range of key performance indicators, which provides evidence of the positive impact of the investment on the National Lottery brand over the longer term.

This evidence suggests that the return on investment has been positive in the short term, and that benefits have also been driven over the longer term.

The National Lottery is regulated by the Gambling Commission. The operator is permitted to seek joint investments in line with Condition 23 of Section 5 of the Third National Lottery Licence.

Details of requests for joint investments, the Commission’s decisions in response and the rationale supporting those decisions can be found on the Commission’s website.

In addition the Gambling Commission has provided the following information. In March 2021 the Commission approved a proposal from the operator for joint investment in National Lottery marketing of £69.4 million (£65.3 million of this was investment from the National Lottery Distribution Fund), with this being allocated as follows:

• £25.7 million to support an investment in marketing of the National Lottery brand. This will be invested to support the long-term health of the National Lottery by driving positivity, loyalty and an emotional connection to the brand.

• £37.3 million to support an investment in marketing of Lotto and EuroMillions.

• £6.4 million to support an investment in marketing of Set for Life.

This approval was granted having considered the Commission’s statutory duties in relation to the National Lottery. Specifically, the Commission identified no material risks to its two primary duties regarding propriety and players Interests and has a high level of assurance that the proposal will be beneficial in relation to maximising returns to good causes, particularly over the long-term.

The two investments referenced (in WPQ 14100 and 14101) focus on additional marketing to support the National Lottery brand. Specifically, the investments were targeted to support the long-term health of the National Lottery by driving positivity, loyalty and an emotional connection to the brand.

For each investment of this nature, the Commission undertakes a robust analytical assessment, as well as negotiation with the operator to ensure the best possible deal for good causes. The performance of such investments is then monitored by the Commission regularly after implementation. For brand investments, this is achieved through:

• Assessing extensive econometric analysis developed by the operator, which is subsequently assured externally and provides evidence of the positive impact of the investment on returns to good causes in the short term.

• Monitoring a wider range of key performance indicators, which provides evidence of the positive impact of the investment on the National Lottery brand over the longer term.

This evidence suggests that the return on investment has been positive in the short term, and that benefits have also been driven over the longer term.

The National Lottery is regulated by the Gambling Commission. The operator is permitted to seek joint investments in line with Condition 23 of Section 5 of the Third National Lottery Licence.

Details of requests for joint investments, the Commission’s decisions in response and the rationale supporting those decisions can be found on the Commission’s website.

In addition the Gambling Commission has provided the following information. In March 2021 the Commission approved a proposal from the operator for joint investment in National Lottery marketing of £69.4 million (£65.3 million of this was investment from the National Lottery Distribution Fund), with this being allocated as follows:

• £25.7 million to support an investment in marketing of the National Lottery brand. This will be invested to support the long-term health of the National Lottery by driving positivity, loyalty and an emotional connection to the brand.

• £37.3 million to support an investment in marketing of Lotto and EuroMillions.

• £6.4 million to support an investment in marketing of Set for Life.

This approval was granted having considered the Commission’s statutory duties in relation to the National Lottery. Specifically, the Commission identified no material risks to its two primary duties regarding propriety and players Interests and has a high level of assurance that the proposal will be beneficial in relation to maximising returns to good causes, particularly over the long-term.

The two investments referenced (in WPQ 14100 and 14101) focus on additional marketing to support the National Lottery brand. Specifically, the investments were targeted to support the long-term health of the National Lottery by driving positivity, loyalty and an emotional connection to the brand.

For each investment of this nature, the Commission undertakes a robust analytical assessment, as well as negotiation with the operator to ensure the best possible deal for good causes. The performance of such investments is then monitored by the Commission regularly after implementation. For brand investments, this is achieved through:

• Assessing extensive econometric analysis developed by the operator, which is subsequently assured externally and provides evidence of the positive impact of the investment on returns to good causes in the short term.

• Monitoring a wider range of key performance indicators, which provides evidence of the positive impact of the investment on the National Lottery brand over the longer term.

This evidence suggests that the return on investment has been positive in the short term, and that benefits have also been driven over the longer term.