In the United Kingdom and the Gambling Commission regulator has announced the launch of the process that is to formally decide who will be granted the next ten-year license to operate the country’s National Lottery.

The organization used an official Friday press release to declare that it is now inviting ‘interested parties’ to enter the inaugural stages of the tendering process for the right to run the National Lottery from August of 2023 following the expiration of the current authorization held by Watford-headquartered Camelot Group.

Lucrative license:

The Gambling Commission proclaimed that it is expects to have named a ‘preferred applicant’ for the world’s fifth largest lottery by this time next year in hopes of continuing to add to the over £41 billion ($54.8 billion) the popular enterprise has raised for in excess of 560,000 good causes since its premiere in 1994.

Sufficient space:

Neil McArthur, Chief Executive for the Gambling Commission, used the press release to pronounce that the fixed ten-year term of the upcoming license is due to provide the winning bidder with ‘a clear period for investment planning’ and help the National Lottery to maintain its reputation as ‘a national treasure’ that regularly provides ‘enjoyable games and a high degree of player protection’ in addition to ‘a rich history of prize giving and returns to good causes.’

Read a statement from McArthur…

“Today, the competition for the fourth National Lottery licence begins. Over the last quarter of a century it has made an unprecedented contribution to communities across the United Kingdom and has made a difference to the lives of millions. We are determined to protect and build on the reputation of the National Lottery.”

Altered attitude:

The Gambling Commission detailed that it has launched the new tendering process after completing ‘an extensive program of global market engagement’ that saw it hear from a wide range of parties interested in the future of the National Lottery. As a result of this consultation and the organization asserted that it now intends to take an ‘outcomes-focussed approach to regulation’ that is to grant the future licensee ‘greater autonomy to meet the needs of players in 2023 and beyond’ while demanding ‘clear accountability’ for the financial performance of the lottery that can be enjoyed by aficionados in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

McArthur’s statement read…

“For the fourth licence, we will be evolving our approach to regulation to build on the National Lottery’s huge successes. Throughout our market engagement, we have been encouraged by a healthy level of interest from a range of different parties and we look forward to running a competitive process.”