Sazka Group to compete for UK National Lottery 4th license

Sazka Group announced last week that it has entered the UK Gambling Commission’s competition to select the operator of the 4th license to run the UK National Lottery by completing its response to the Gambling Commission’s Selection Questionnaire.

Commenting on the European lottery operator’s decision to enter the competition, Sazka CEO Robert Chvatal said: "As a leader in operating lotteries across Europe, Sazka has made no secret of the fact that we would be thrilled to operate the UK National Lottery. The UK National Lottery is a national treasure with a proud 26-year history. Now it is looking forward to the next decade and how it can best serve its customers in a world so disrupted by digital transformation, the fourth industrial revolution, and COVID. The landscape from when the UK National Lottery was launched back in 1994 has changed beyond measure."

The National Lottery is one of the world’s largest lotteries and the current (third) license is due to expire in 2023. Since launching in 1994, players have collectively raised more than £41 billion (USD 54 B) for 565,000 good causes across the UK, transforming lives and contributing to the arts, sport, heritage, and communities.

The next license seeks to build on that success by creating a framework that maximizes the opportunities for players and good causes to benefit from innovation and creativity, whilst protecting the National Lottery’s unique status.   

"At Sazka we have a track record of facilitating the evolution of established lotteries to innovate for their successful future. We are serious about our intentions and respectful of the process we are entering in to. We submitted our completed application to the Gambling Commission by yesterday’s deadline. This was an important and exciting moment for us, marking our official entry into the competition. We trust that our submission will demonstrate our professional track record and technical capabilities," Chvatal continued.

According to the UKGC, key changes for the fourth license include:

• A fixed 10-year license: A fixed-term means that the licensee has a clear period for investment planning.
• Focusing on performance: Building on the National Lottery’s success to-date, the new license will provide greater flexibility to maximize returns to good causes, hand in hand with ensuring safe and fair play.
• Incentive mechanism: A new incentive mechanism will ensure the licensee’s incentives and delivery are closely aligned with returns to good causes
• Protecting the brand: The licensee will be required to foster stronger relationships with the distributors of National Lottery funding to further strengthen the link between the National Lottery brand, its players, and good causes.

"We are in the process of hiring a team in the UK and are building the partnerships and relationships necessary to deliver in due course a compelling case which is based on a clear understanding of the needs and desires of all stakeholders and customers the UK National Lottery touches," Chvatal concluded.