National Lottery rejects Camelot's proposal

2nd Mar 2011 15:42

The National Lottery Commission (NLC) has rejected Camelot's plans to offer ancillary activities through its terminals after concerns raised by EU competition law.Camelot, the lottery operator, had proposed an application to the NLC in early 2009 to offer services such as mobile top-ups and bill payments through its network of National Lottery terminals, often seen in supermarkets and independent corner shops.After a provisional decision in July 2010, the Commission has now confirmed the refusal of consent to Camelot's application."We cannot, as a public body, consent to the proposal that is before us when doing so may place us in breach of European competition law. We have considered whether the risks involved can reasonably be mitigated but have concluded, based on the advice we have received, that they cannot," said NCL chief executive Mark Harris.Those who challenged Camelot's proposal claimed that retailers with smaller stores would be forced to have just one terminal that provided multiple services, rather than two.PayPoint, which provides payment collection and ATM networks across the UK, issued a statement Wednesday welcoming the decision. Shares rose 19%."This will come as a huge relief for the many good causes whose revenues would have been threatened by the massive diversion of management time, energy and resources which Camelot's proposed diversification would have caused," said PayPoint boss Dominic Taylor. "It would be entirely wrong for Camelot to be allowed to exploit its position as Lottery monopolist and spread its resources to offer unrelated commercial services." The NCL statement said that "inequalities of opportunity caused by the unmatchable advantages, in and of themselves, represent a distortion of competition.""Camelot has an extensive network of terminal and related payment infrastructure, a substantial retailer network and significant National Lottery branding advantages which would give it an unassailable position in the market for commercial services."