Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what engagement (1) the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and (2) the Gambling Commission, has had with (a) the Ministry of Defence, (b) the Home Office, and (c) the security services, ahead of the announcement on 15 March that Allwyn Entertainment UK was the Preferred Applicant for the fourth National Lottery licence; and whether the Ministry of Defence or the Home Office have approached either DCMS or the Gambling Commission in response to the announcement.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Gambling Commission is responsible for running the competition for the fourth National Lottery licence. Under the National Lottery Act 1993, the Commission must ensure that any person who either runs or benefits from the running of the National Lottery is fit and proper and that the Licensee’s operation meets high standards of propriety.
Fit and proper checks examine the identity, integrity, criminality and financial standing of those who run, or benefit from running, the National Lottery, or are applying to do so. As part of its duties under the Act, the Commission cannot award the licence unless it is satisfied that the proposed licensee is fit and proper. The Commission is required to revoke a licence if it becomes satisfied that the licensee is no longer, or indeed never was, fit and proper.
In addition, following the announcement of Allwyn as the preferred applicant in March 2022, standard vetting checks (Baseline Personnel Security Standard or BPSS level) are being carried out, on behalf of the Commission, by UK Security Vetting on key people connected with the proposal. These include Qualifying Direct Shareholders, which is any person who holds at least 5% interest in the licensee.