Gambling Commission fines Camelot for Lotto miscalculation
This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.
Errors made by National Lottery operator Camelot in calculating the jackpots of its 'Millionaire Maker Raffle' have resulted in a fine of £300,000 being imposed by the Gambling Commission.
The raffle was for 45 prizes, consisting of twenty-five £1m prizes and twenty £20,000 prizes. Following the draw on 10 October 2015, Camelot published the incorrect winning numbers for the 45 prizes, with these remaining on its website for over an hour and more than 100,000 people viewing them. Camelot eventually took steps to remove the incorrect information and publish the correct results.
Condition 5.10(b) of Camelot's licence to operate the National Lottery provides that all processes and procedures must be fit for purpose and condition 7.42 that any material published by Camelot (including information relating to results) must not mislead players. Camelot's failings were found to have breached both terms. In particular the Commission stressed that Camelot took too long to clear and correct the information, and that the regulator expects to see an improvement in this regard with any future issues. The Commission also stated that it will engage with Camelot further on its control environment framework, with particular focus on the generation of digital content. Two further breaches in November and December 2015 were also investigated by the Commission: an incorrect jackpot advertinaccurate information was published on the EuroMillions results checker page stating that ten £1m prizes were available instead of one, and was also provided about Lotto raffle prize tiers. No further sanctions were imposed in relation to these breaches, however, as they were considered by the Commission to be of low impact.
At the root of the Commission's concerns with the 'Millionaire Maker Raffle' incident in particular was the damage that it could have on the maintenance of public trust in the integrity of the National Lottery. Unfortunately for Camelot, this is not the first time that such a miscalculation has occurred. Following a Lotto draw on 19 October 2013, Camelot informed three jackpot winners that they had won £2.1m each (a share of a £6.2m jackpot). In fact, the jackpot was £4.8m and they had won £1.6m each. The incorrect jackpot amount was also broadcast to the public generally, and Camelot was subsequently fined £100,000.
The size of the fine this time round could well be a reflection of the fact that this is not an isolated incident, and heightened scrutiny of the National Lottery operator's activities by the regulator can be expected to follow.
