National Lottery’s Camelot Fined £1.2 million for Governance Failings

The operator of the UK’s National Lottery has been fined £1.2 million by the Gambling Commission, for failures in governance and gambling control labelled “sufficiently serious.”

It comes as one of the latest high profile cases of failings tackled by the Gambling Commission, as part of its role overseeing and ensuring fairness in the gambling sector.

Camelot were handed the penalty notice after an investigation by the Gambling Commission, which found a number of infringements. The investigation was initially launched after Camelot launched a mobile app which incorrectly declared ticket results, including telling those with winning tickets that they had lost.

After investigations began in December 2016, the process was paused in February 2017, to allow Camelot time to implement new internal systems as part of their Operational Excellence Program. Resuming in November of that year, the penalty comes at the conclusion of the audit, which was broadened to include “other controls-related failures that had emerged subsequent to the start of the investigation.”

Alongside the offending app, that Gambling Commission also identified several other failings. Incomplete Lotto results were published online, likely to lead to uncertainty and confusion in its players, while direct debit issues meant there were problems in processing sales for a period. Further failures were highlighted in security and control of its systems in Post Offices, which were all considered and factored in to the ruling.

The regulator was keen to note that Camelot had cooperated fully with their investigations, and had taken steps to “to update and enhance its procedures and controls to mitigate the risk of further issues.”

Still, the news is the latest blow for Camelot, and for its National Lottery products. Widely played in the UK, the regulator appears have been left with little choice, in light of the issues uncovered in their investigation. Anything less would run the risk of undermining public confidence in the National Lottery and its operator.

The fine is the latest penalty Camelot has received at the hands of the regulator, after receiving a £3 million penalty in December 2016 for paying out a jackpot in error to a fraudulent claimant. A further £300,000 of fines were handed out in the same year for incomplete lottery results being posted online.

With the fine now behind them, and the latest public slap on the wrists administered, Camelot must now continue to ensure mistakes of this kind don’t happen again. While there is no suggestion of wilful failings in this case, it serves as a reminder to all gambling operators of the need to ensure they are getting everything right for their customers.

Experienced operators generally have a good handle on this, but in larger organisations, it’s easy to see how communication breakdowns can lead to problems. But in the gambling sector, trust is vital to the appeal. Players have to know that when they buy their ticket, or place their bet, they’re being given the complete experience they deserve, in a fair, compliant way.

The case is a reminder of the work the Gambling Commission does in keeping the UK’s market on the right track. While some might not agree with their every decision, cases of this kind should serve as a guide to countries establishing their own gambling industries as to the benefits of a regulated, accountable model.