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Richard Desmond's Health Lottery wins online gambling licence

 

Gambling Commission grants Daily Express owner's project casino licence despite opposition from charity body

guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 June 2012 04.47 EDT 

 

Richard Desmond's Health Lottery has been granted an online gambling licence. Photograph: Ray Tang/Rex Features

Richard Desmond is set to try his hand in the casino industry after being awarded a licence for the Health Lottery to expand into online gambling, including roulette and poker.

 

The Health Lottery, a subsidiary of Desmond's Northern & Shell, which owns Express Newspapers, OK! magazine and Channel 5, was launched with much fanfare in September as a socially-minded alternative to rival Camelot's National Lottery.

 

However, the venture has so far failed to live up to expectations, bringing in about half the £50m a year promised for good causes and racking up a pre-tax loss of £28.5m in its first three months. Chief executive Martin Hall stepped down in April, although he remains a non-executive director.

 

It has now emerged that Desmond has been granted a casino licence by the Gambling Commission to allow the Health Lottery to expand to offer "casino games and/or other virtual gaming by remote communication (for example roulette, balckjack, poker [or] reel games)".

 

A spokesman for the Gambling Commission confirmed that a remote casino operating licence – allowing online gambling – had been awarded to the Health Lottery last month.

 

A spokesman for N&S said that the casino products will not use the Health Lottery branding. They will be launched using a different identity.

 

"Health Lottery ELM Ltd applied for this licence 12 months ago and at present, there is no specific timeline for launching any online casino games," said the spokesman.

 

Rival Camelot is challenging the Gambling Commission's decision not to revoke or suspend the Health Lottery's licence. The high court will decide on 11 July whether or not there will be a judicial review.

 

Sir Stephen Bubb, chief executive of Acevo, the body that represents charity leaders which has been campaigning against Desmond's venture, said: "Our fear remains that the Health Lottery will damage charitable income in this country, and that on that basis it should never have been given a licence."

 

A spokesman for the Health Lottery hit back at the criticism, saying it so far has made £18m for good causes.

 

Camelot applies for High Court review of Health Lottery

PUBLISHED: 20:22 GMT, 2 June 2012 | UPDATED: 19:17 GMT, 3 June 2012

 

National Lottery operator Camelot is applying on July 11 for a judicial review into the Gambling Commission's decision to license Richard Desmond's Health Lottery.

 

Camelot called for the High Court review after the Commission’s decision earlier this year not to uphold its complaint against the Health Lottery.

 

It has held the licence for the National  Lottery since 1994 and complained to the Commission after the launch of the Health Lottery in September.

 

 Licence spat: Alesha Dixon in an advertisement for the National Lottery

Camelot wanted the Commission to revoke the Health Lottery’s licences because it said it contravened the 2005 Gambling Act.

It claimed it was, in effect, a single lottery, but also said it should not be allowed to operate on a commercial, profit-making basis.

 

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The Health Lottery was set up by Channel 5 owner Desmond and operates as 51 local society lotteries, or community-interest companies that raise money for health-related causes.

 

• An earlier version of this article said incorrectly that the judicial review was commencing on July 11. In fact it is the application for review.

A statement from Richard Desmond's Northern and Shell said: 'We believe Camelot’s case against the Gambling Commission is entirely without merit.

'We are very proud that the 51 society lotteries that raise money through Health Lottery brand have raised over £18million pounds for local health causes.'

 

 

 

 

13 March 2012 Last updated at 13:07 GMT  

Camelot seeks judicial review of Health Lottery

 

Camelot fears that the Health Lottery has set a precedent for other potential lottery schemes Continue reading the main story

 

The operator of the National Lottery is seeking permission for a judicial review of the Gambling Commission's decision to allow the rival Health Lottery to operate in its current form.

 

Camelot said the commission's decision was a "fundamental error" which could allow other firms to enter the market.

 

The Health Lottery was established last year by Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell media company.

 

It said Camelot's argument was "devoid of merit".

 

The Health Lottery raises funds for UK health causes.

 

'Devastating impact'

 

The core of Camelot's argument is that it accuses the Health Lottery of being a UK-wide rival to the National Lottery.

 

Camelot chief executive Dianne Thompson says this goes against the National Lottery Act of 1993, which allows for just one national lottery.

 

However, the Health Lottery counters that it simply represents 51 separate, small-scale organisations.

 

Ms Thompson said there was a "real danger" that the commission's decision would set a precedent, and thereby allow other commercial operators to set up as rivals to the National Lottery.

 

She said this would have a potentially "devastating" impact on the number of people who played the National Lottery, and the amount of money it raised for good causes.

 

"As you can imagine, no business likes to be publicly at loggerheads with a regulator," said Ms Thompson.

 

"But the issue at stake here is so important, not just to us, but to the good causes that the National Lottery exists to support, that we can no longer remain silent."

 

 

 

 

08:12 GMT, Thursday, 12 January 2012

 

Is the Health Lottery 'diluting charity'?

 

The charity sector is calling on MP's to investigate the operation of the Health Lottery, run by media owner Richard Desmond.

 

Sir Stephen Bubb, of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), says there is "less money for charities overall" because of The Health Lottery.

 

But Jeremy Muller, one of the three directors of the Community Interest Companies which manage the Health Lottery defends the lottery, saying it has already given £8m to charities across the country.

 

 

New lottery launched to help health causes

27 September 2011 Last updated at 04:23 ET Help

 

A new televised lottery intended to raise £50m a year to tackle health inequalities is being launched.

 

The Health Lottery, run by Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell media company, will offer a £100,000 top prize for matching five numbers.

 

Some charity leaders have been critical that less will go to good causes than from each National Lottery ticket.

 

The Health Lottery will donate over 20p per £1 ticket, compared with 28p for every National Lottery ticket.

 

Graham Satchell reports.

 

 Licence spat: Alesha Dixon in an advertisement for the National Lottery

27 September 2011 Last updated at 13:33 ET

 

Media group launches commercial lottery

Health Lottery chief executive Martin Hall: "If we're giving more in prizes, there is less to give away"

A new commercial lottery says it aims to raise £50m a year for health causes across Britain.

 

The Health Lottery, run by the Northern & Shell media company which owns Express newspapers and Channel 5, will offer a top prize of up to £100,000.

 

It will donate 20.34p per £1 ticket to charity, compared with 28p for every National Lottery ticket.

 

The charitable donation has been described as a "pretty disgraceful development" by a charity chief.

 

Health Lottery chief executive Martin Hall said the game would ultimately pay out a greater proportion of income in prizes than the National Lottery does, with 57p on every ticket being returned in prizes.

 

But Sir Stephen Bubb, of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, said Northern & Shell owner Richard Desmond was "profiteering on the back of charities".

 

"The National Lottery gives 28p, if he cares about health charities he should match that figure or he should close it down," he told the BBC.

 

"I suspect this is more about making profits for this new venture than it is to give money to health charities."

 

He said ticket sales for the National Lottery would fall and charities generally would get less money if Mr Desmond's new lottery competed with it.

 

'Real impacts'

 

The Health Lottery has been set up to oversee 51 society lotteries, each representing a different area in England, Wales and Scotland.

 

As a society lottery, the draws will be exempt from the 12p in duty paid on each pound of National Lottery sales.

 

The Health Lottery expects that £50m will be donated to health-related causes, based on projected annual ticket sales of £250m.

 

That compares to the £270m the National Lottery is said to have given health-related charities last year out of total donations of £1.6bn and overall sales of £5.8bn.

 

Donations from the Health Lottery could include money to cover respite care and counselling for young carers, and specialist nurses for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, but the aim is not to subsidise or finance NHS projects, organisers said.

 

The money raised by the Health Lottery will be distributed by the People's Health Trust.

 

John Hume, chief executive of the People's Health Trust, said: "We will be working directly with communities to identify practical and sustainable ways in which funding from the Health Lottery can have real impacts on health and well-being in communities experiencing significant disadvantages."

 

Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, backed by a £20m publicity campaign. The draw will be presented by Eamonn Holmes and shown in adverts on Saturday evenings on ITV 1 and Channel 5.

 

Any player selecting five matching numbers from 50 will win £100,000. Four matching numbers wins £500, while three will collect £50.

 

More than 40,000 retailers have signed up to sell tickets, which is believed to be about 12,000 more than the National Lottery has.

 

Northern & Shell is understood to have already spent about £30m in set-up costs.

 

The company has not disclosed how much profit it eventually envisages to make from the Health Lottery.

 

Camelot, which runs the National Lottery under licence, is allowed to make a 0.5% profit on each ticket sold.