UK National Lottery operator gets $4M fine due to mobile app failures

Due to failures linked to its mobile app, Camelot UK Limited has been fined £3.15 million ($4.1 million) following a UKGC investigation into these malfunctionings that negatively impacted consumers. The money will go to good causes, the Commission informed. 

The first failure related to the UK National Lottery mobile app incorrectly informing up to 20,000 players that their winning draw-based ticket was a non-winner when they scanned the ticket with the device’s QR scanner between November 2016 to September 2020. 

The second failure involved 22,210 players who purchased a single draw-based ticket through the app being charged for and receiving two tickets. All of those players have been identified and either refunded for the duplicated wager or, where duplicate wagers were winners, these were honored as such on a duplicate basis. 

The third failure related to the app sending out marketing messages to app users who had either self-excluded through Gamstop or had been identified by Camelot as showing signs of gambling harm. While marketing messages were sent out, none of the 65,400 players were subsequently permitted by the app to purchase a National Lottery Product. 

Andrew Rhodes, Gambling Commission Chief Executive, spoke about this fine and said: “We are reassured that Camelot has taken steps to make sure that their National Lottery app is fit for purpose. However, we must caution Camelot that any failings on their duties will be met with consequences. Today’s announcement reinforces that any operator failing to comply with their licence requirements will be investigated by the Commission and we will not hesitate to issue fines if requirements are breached”.

The news comes less than a week after the Gambling Commission announced that, after 28 years, Camelot is set to lose its license to run the UK National Lottery as it named rival Allwyn Entertainment as its preferred applicant to take over. Owned by the Czech group Sazka, Allwyn is expected to take over from Camelot in 2024.

Camelot has been named as the reserve applicant. This means it would continue to run the lottery in the event that finalization could not be achieved with the preferred candidate in the lottery's fourth license process.