Lottoland slams “nonsensical” decision to ban EuroMillions bets

Lottoland has slammed the UK government’s “nonsensical” decision to ban betting on EuroMillions draws, suggesting the whole consultation period was nothing more than a “rubber stamping exercise”.

Speaking to EGR after the government announcement yesterday, Lottoland CEO Nigel Birrell questioned the rationale behind the government’s decision, which it said was to protect funding for good causes.

“The government has spoken about evidence-based policy making, and we provided serious evidence showing there was no effect on money going to good causes. So how can they make this decision? It’s just crazy.”

In its consultation document, the government said Lottoland’s evidence was inconclusive, saying it “remained concerned” that more widespread betting on lotteries would harm good causes.

However Birrell also dismissed this argument, pointing out that Lottoland had only been calling for a review period for the next two years in order to establish a proper evidence base as to the impact of bet-on lotteries.

“This business has only been going for two years and there isn’t enough time to have firm evidence,” the exec said. “Let’s take a two-year period to collect more evidence, and if it’s proved we are harming good causes, fair enough.

“But there’s no evidence to suggest that’s the case, and this is just stifling young entrepreneurial companies bringing innovation to the market.”

Birrell also questioned the neutrality of the consultation, claiming Camelot executives had been given more access to government officials than Lottoland.

“We don’t feel we’ve had a fair crack of the whip,” Birrell said. “We had a couple of meetings with officials, whereas we know Camelot has been meeting with the minister regularly.

“That’s really unfair. It implies the decision was made in advance. The consultation was a rubber stamping exercise.”

Going forward, Birrell said the company will consult with its legal team before deciding on its next steps, with the implementation date of the ban still to be determined.

He also warned of the “significant impact” the ban would have on the company, which was recently hit with a similar ruling in Australia.

“It’s only one product of 25 for us but it’s a meaningful one, because it’s the one most people are aware of and it’s how we attract customers. It’s significant for us, and we’ll have to assess our strategy in the UK.

He added: “We’re confident we have the product offering to keep attracting UK players. We have the best part of a million customers in the UK and it’s just a shame they won’t have access to EuroMillions. It’s just depriving customers of choice without evidence and it’s nonsensical really,” Birrell concluded.