Licence to operate the Lottery (Section 5 licence)

Following a competitive bidding process, Camelot was originally awarded a ten year licence to run the National Lottery starting in 2009. In March 2012 this was subsequently extended by four years. Over this 14 year period we will amend our regulatory regime where appropriate, including the terms of the licence, to cut bureaucracy, give Camelot more freedom and better protect Lottery players and the money they raise for good causes.

On the left-hand side of this page there is a document which details all of the changes we have agreed with Camelot to date to the licence to run the National Lottery, along with the Notice of decision – 6 March 2012 that extended the licence. The licence requires Camelot to submit some documents and policies to the Commission for approval, and for greater transparency these decisions are also included in this table. The table has been divided into five different types of changes to the licence; approvals, consents, variations, disapplications, and waivers.

Definitions of terms

Approvals: Some provisions of the Third Licence require Camelot to submit documents or issues to the Commission for approval. In the case of documents, this is where we want to be sure of, and to agree, the specific details set out in the document, for example the Strategy to prevent underage play. In the case of issues that require approval, the licence generally requires Camelot to seek our approval if the issue might have an impact on the National Lottery and we need to understand that impact. An example is that we require Camelot to seek Commission approval of ancillary activities.

Consent: This is a similar process to an approval. It reflects that the Commission agrees to allow Camelot to pursue a course of action.

Variation: This is where we make a permanent change to a licence provision. Some licence provisions can only be changed with Camelot’s consent. In other cases we can impose a variation. Reasons for making a variation include: a change in circumstances means that the licence doesn’t regulate Camelot as it should; there is a lack of clarity about what is required; or if Camelot acts in a way we feel is inappropriate and which we wish to regulate in future.

Waiver: This is where we excuse Camelot from its obligation to comply with a licence requirement in one particular set of circumstances. For example Camelot has to have a retailer in every postcode district that has more than 2000 residents. Camelot is unable to do so if there are few retailers in that district and those that are there refuse to take a NL terminal. In such cases we waive the licence obligation insofar as it applies to that area.

Disapplications: This flows from our ‘REx Earned Autonomy programme’ which is designed to remove regulatory burdens where Camelot has a strong proven track record. A disapplication means that we have removed one of the obligations on Camelot from the Licence. For example it is no longer required to display U16 notices in shops. It’s not a variation because the Commission can, if it considers it appropriate, reinstate the provision as it was originally set out in the licence on notice to Camelot.

Approvals, consents, variations and waivers also apply in relation to the licences to individual Lottery games. To date there have been no disapplication of individual game licences.

Related downloads

• Approvals consents variations and disapplications and waivers 01 01 12

  01 01 12

  (doc - 228kb)

• Notice of decision - 6 March 2012

  Notice of decision

  (pdf - 133kb)

• Third licence to operate the lottery amended 04/2012

  Amended licence 04/2012

  (pdf - 1.033mb)