It said it would now announce the favoured bidder in either July or August but still award the license at the end of August. The Commission said that although the decision had been delayed, the license would still be awarded at the end of August.
Current operator Camelot, owned by Royal Mail, De La Rue, Cadbury Schweppes, Thales and Japan’s Fujitsu, and Mumbai-based Sugal & Damani are the two companies in the running for the contract.