The UK National Lottery’s administrator, Camelot Group, has received a substantial penalty of £3.15 million (approximately $4.2 million) for a string of errors. The UK Gambling Commission imposed the sanction following an inquiry that uncovered three distinct malfunctions within Camelot’s mobile application. Consistent with their position as the National Lottery manager, Camelot will be contributing the entire sum of the fine to charitable endeavors.
One particularly troubling mistake involved the application incorrectly notifying a surprising 20,000 participants that their victorious entries were not winners after utilizing the app’s QR code reader. This problem persisted for an unreasonable duration, spanning from November 2016 to September 2020. Another fault, affecting 22,210 players, resulted in users being billed for two entries when they had only procured one through the application. Fortunately, these individuals have been located and compensated, and any prizes have been disbursed. The final issue involved the application distributing promotional content to users who had either self-excluded from wagering or had been identified by Camelot as potentially experiencing gambling difficulties. This impacted a considerable 65,400 players who, ironically, were prevented from actually acquiring lottery products through the application.
Andrew Rhodes, the Gambling Commission’s Chief Executive, stressed the gravity of these shortcomings, remarking, “We are heartened that Camelot has implemented measures to ensure that its National Lottery application is suitable for its intended purpose. Nevertheless, we must advise Camelot that any deficiencies on their behalf will be met with repercussions.”
The Gaming Authority released a stern warning today, declaring they are closely monitoring all gaming providers. They stressed that any provider caught violating regulations will face substantial penalties. This follows the latest news that Allwyn Entertainment will assume control of the National Lottery.