The National Lottery Commission, Gambling Commission and DCMS have dismissed concerns about potential conflicts of interest arising from the proposed merger of the commissions, arguing that a merged regulator can both promote National Lottery profits and regulate gambling in general.
Representatives from both regulators reiterated their support for the merger at a select committee inquiry in Westminster this morning. In written evidence to the commitee, society lotteries expressed concern that the regulator may suffer from a conflict of interest stemming from its stewardship of the National Lottery at the same time as licensing and regulating the charity lottery sector.
Dr Anne Wright, chair of the National Lottery Commission, said that the merging of the two commissions could provide distinct benefits for the National Lottery, which funded good causes to the tune of £1.95bn last financial year.
“It is absolutely essential that the National Lottery is preserved and maintained in the national interest,” she said.
She expressed confidence that, with appropriate management and governance structures in place, a catch-all gambling regulator will be able to fulfil its third statutory duty with regard to the National Lottery: maximising the profits of the national game.
“We’ve looked at potential conflict scenarios and concluded that there are no major risks or hurdles,” she said.
The DCMS, which oversees gambling, was similarly assured about the proposed new regulator’s ability to both regulate gambling more widely, and to promote profits of the National Lottery. Jonathan Stephens, permanent secretary to the DCMS, denied that the merger would devalue the place of the national game, and said it made “good sense” for the two bodies to be brought together.
However, Camelot is not quite as confident. Asked whether the company, which runs the National Lottery, believes the lottery’s unique position may be weakened by the merger, Daniel Dyball, Camelot’s head of regulatory affairs, said his organisation broadly supported the merger, but that “there’s certainly a risk”.
The regulators, however, agreed that the merged commission will have to counter perceptions of such conflicts with openness and transparency in its decision-making.
National Lottery Commission chief executive Mark Harris, pressed by Select Committee chair John Whittingdale, said that the regulator had found Camelot to be in breach of its licence conditions relatively rarely – one or two times a year – and that when licence conditions prove too onerous, the Commission and Camelot have worked together to achieve a solution.
The two commissions have already begun working more closely together, moving in to the same office block in January of last year.
DCMS future
During the inquiry, Labour MP Gerry Sutcliffe pressed the DCMS permanent secretary on rumours that the DCMS, already having taken a cut in staff, may no longer exist in the near future. He also suggested that the Home Office is keen to bring lotteries under its own control. Stephens denied both rumours.
