Camelot is considering requesting a judicial review against the Gambling Commission for not taking regulatory action against the Health Lottery.

However, the Commission has fired a letter off to Camelot earlier this week declaring that it will fight any such challenge.

Camelot, the National Lottery operator, wrote to the Gambling Commission to express its concern about the regulator’s lack of response to its repeated claims regarding what it perceives to be the illegality of the newcomer lottery.

A statement from Camelot read: “We have now written to the Gambling Commission to notify it of our intention to challenge, by way of judicial review, its continuing failure to take regulatory action.”

The company reserved the right to issue judicial review proceedings if the Commission did not respond to its complaint within two weeks of the letter arriving.

Gambling Commission response

However, a Commission spokesman told civilsociety.co.uk today thatit had written back to Camelot stating its intention to oppose any legal challenge on the basis that Camelot has taken far too long to issue it.

Mark Lepkowski said: "There is a three-month time limit for challenges to decisions of the Gambling Commission.  The Commission granted the Health Lottery its licence in September 2010 and Camelot did not submit its challenge until last month, which at 18 months is obviously well outside the three-month deadline."

Camelot has challenged the legality of the Health Lottery since its inception. It said it first raised the issue with the Gambling Commission in October and has written to it since.

Camelot has contended that the structure of the Health Lottery – it is made up of 51 society lotteries – goes against both the spirit and letter of the law and has been involved in a series of claims and counter claims with the Health Lottery about whether it is expanding or cannibalising the lottery market.

The Health Lottery has consistently defended its legality against challenges from Camelot, and repeatedly pointed to the fact that it had passed all legal requirements in the years leading up to launch, last October.

Martin Hall, chief executive of the Health Lottery, said: “This is an issue between Camelot and the Gambling Commission. We have seen nothing new in the arguments put forward and we believe this is without merit.”