Lottery betting firms plot judicial review of EuroMillions ban
Lottoland among four firms asking legislative process to be suspended ahead of a legal challenge
A group of lottery betting operators have written to the UK government asking it to suspend its forthcoming ban on EuroMillions betting.
The ban is due to come into force on 6 April, but the group – made up of Lottoland, WorldLottery Club, Jackpot.com and Multilotto – claim the move is contrary to EU law and are filing a claim for judicial review.
“The Lotto Betting Group believes that the decision to prohibit betting on non-UK EuroMillions draws was unjustified and was based on inconclusive evidence,” the operators said this morning.
“This belief has been supported by the recent publication of the National Audit Office report, which confirms that the fall in National Lottery income for good causes in 2016-17 was due to a move away from National Lottery draw based games to Instant games and not as a result of lottery betting. Instant games have a lower return to good causes, which led to the decline.”
The DCMS originally moved to ban Euromillions betting over fears it was harming National Lottery sales and reducing donations for good causes.
However the Lotto Betting Group claim there is no econometric evidence to support the claim that betting Euromillions draws is having any statistically significant impact on UK EuroMillions tickets sales.
Also noted was the Government’s own impact assessment statement which stated that “there is no evidence that betting on EuroMillions draws abroad currently harms returns to good causes”.
A spoksesperson for DCMS said: “We can confirm that we have received a letter. We will respond in due course.”