Camelot’s Acquisition Completion Ensued Board and Team Changes

UK’s National Lottery operator, Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, announced this weekend the end of its ongoing acquisition by the winner of the fourth National Lottery license in the country, Allwyn Group.

Transaction Completed

The completion of the transaction with Allwyn brought together two leading lottery operators ahead of the start of the next National Lottery license at the beginning of 2024, heralding the upcoming new and exciting chapter for the National Lottery. Camelot will continue to operate the lottery until its license expiry in January 2024.

The operator which is currently running lotteries in Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus and Italy, saw the transaction as a natural continuation and consolidation in the UK market after Camelot admitted to having lost the competitive bid for the fourth National Lottery license.

Camelot was threatening to take the UK Gambling Commission to court for alleged violations of the bidding process but in the end, decided not to pursue legal action and admit defeat, and thus, paved the way for Allwyn’s takeover bid.

The acquisition was first confirmed in October when the Czech Republic-based pan-European lottery operator announced it was in talks with Camelot to acquire its UK business, and in January, the UK Gambling Commission approved the acquisition and greenlighted the transaction completion.

Upon completion, the acquisition also triggered several previously announced changes to the board and management team of Camelot, including the stepping down of Camelot’s Chairman since 2018, Sir Hugh Robertson, who was replaced by Sir Keith Mills.

Following the departure of Nigel Railton, former Chief Financial Officer Clare Swindell and former Commercial Director Neil Brocklehurst, were appointed as Co-Chief Executive Officers to lead Camelot into its new business chapter.

Bridging the UK with the US

Allwyn went one step further and entered into an agreement with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan to acquire Camelot Lottery Solutions group of companies for an undisclosed fee and gain a much-coveted entry into the US lottery market.

Chicago-based Camelot LS Group has long-term agreements to operate the Illinois Lottery as a private manager and to partner with the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery and help the lottery enhance its operations, and its acquisition is seen by Allwyn as an essential step for the group’s future growth path.

Allwyn said that the transaction that is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023 would not bring changes to Camelot LS Group leadership team and that the team members would continue to serve its lottery partners, leveraging Allwyn’s in-depth lottery operating experience gained in over a decade in Europe.