Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with representatives from the Gambling Commission on (a) the process for the fourth National Lottery licence competition and (b) the delay to the commencement of that competition.

The current National Lottery licence expires in 2023, and the Gambling Commission remains on track to appoint an operator to take on the new licence from this date. The competition is expected to commence in the first half of 2020, with the successful applicant being announced in 2021.

My predecessors met regularly with the Gambling Commission including discussions on the planning for the fourth licence competition. The Secretary of State and I look forward to continuing those discussions, and we will be meeting with the Gambling Commission shortly. DCMS officials are also working closely with the Gambling Commission on the design of the next licence.