Bird & Bird is proud to have supported our client, Allwyn, in its successful application to operate the UK National Lottery. Today (20th September 2022), the Gambling Commission formally awarded the fourth National Lottery Licence to Allwyn, for a period of 10 years from February 2024.
The Award is the culmination of almost three years of work from a multi-disciplinary Bird & Bird team, working hand in hand with Allwyn’s team. The project has involved over 70 Bird & Bird lawyers in London across areas including gambling regulation, technology transactions, public procurement, finance, intellectual property, data protection, employment, corporate, tax and dispute resolution, as well as support from our teams in Prague (who have a longstanding relationship with the Allwyn Group) and Brussels (in relation to EuroMillions).
The Bird & Bird project team was led by Andy Danson (Head of Gambling), with partners Ian Edwards and Kimberly Wells leading the technology work, Stuart Cairns leading on procurement matters, and significant support coming from across the firm, including from gambling partners Vojtech Chloupek (Prague) and Elizabeth Dunn (London).
Andy Danson commented: “We’re absolutely thrilled for Allwyn, and so excited to see how they will reinvigorate the UK National Lottery for the benefit of millions of players and for good causes across the country. It has been a real privilege to be able to support this project from start to finish, working incredibly closely with the Allwyn team over a long period in pursuit of a common goal, which has now come to fruition. It has also brought out the best in Bird & Bird – the ability to support clients across multiple legal practice areas and different jurisdictions as part of one unified team delivering cutting edge solutions. We are really looking forward to continuing to work closely with Allwyn on the accelerated transition process over the next 16 months, and in support of the next chapter for the National Lottery going forwards”.
Jonathan Handyside, Allwyn Group General Counsel, said “The team at Bird & Bird, led by Andy Danson, patiently and unstintingly delivered commercial and creative advice to our team throughout what was a testing and thorough bid process. Without question, their support across our bid played an important part in what was to be a successful outcome for all of us.”
