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Camelot gets nod for UK lottery Camelot gets nod for UK lottery
(40 minutes later)
Camelot has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the latest licence to run the UK's National Lottery.Camelot has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the latest licence to run the UK's National Lottery.
The licence, the third in the lottery's history, will come into effect in February 2009 and last for 10 years.The licence, the third in the lottery's history, will come into effect in February 2009 and last for 10 years.
Camelot has run the National Lottery since its launch in 1994 and said it expects to conclude talks with the National Lottery Commission this month. Camelot has run the National Lottery since its launch in 1994 and said it expected to conclude talks with the National Lottery Commission this month.
Camelot had been facing competition from Indian company Sugal & Damani, which wanted to take over operations. Camelot had been facing competition from Indian company Sugal & Damani, which wanted to take over the lottery.
Camelot will now start talks to finalise the terms of its agreement.
"We now need to agree the final form of the licence," said Dianne Thompson, Camelot's chief executive."We now need to agree the final form of the licence," said Dianne Thompson, Camelot's chief executive.
"The competition is not over until this has been done.""The competition is not over until this has been done."
Sugal & Damani has been chosen as the reserve preferred bidder, and would be eligible to start talks should there be any problems between Camelot and the commission.
Winning ticketWinning ticket
As well as providing a broad range of games for people to play, lottery operators must also generate as much cash as possible for good causes.As well as providing a broad range of games for people to play, lottery operators must also generate as much cash as possible for good causes.
Critics of Camelot have complained that the firm has not made enough money. Critics of Camelot have complained that the firm has not made enough money after total spending on lottery tickets fell last year to £4.91bn from £5.01bn.
Total spending on lottery tickets fell last year to £4.91bn from £5.01bn while money raised for good causes also dropped to £1.24bn from £1.29bn. At the same time, money raised for good causes also dropped to £1.24bn from £1.29bn.
The successful bidder had to show that it could manage the transition to the next licence smoothly, a requirement experts believed would favour Camelot. The National Lottery Commission said that having reviewed the two business plans for the latest licence, it had concluded "that Camelot's bid is better able to maximise returns to good causes".
Besides its other responsibilities, the next Lottery operator will be expected to hit targets for raising funds for the 2012 Olympics. The commission also said that it had concluded that there was "a strong probability that Camelot would achieve higher sales" than Sugal & Damani.
However, the commission said it had concerns about some of Camelot's proposals, adding that it "did not find all the evidence compelling".
It added that some of the ideas put forward by Camelot for boosting returns had understated the degree of risk involved.
"In particular, the commission was concerned that Camelot had adopted the more optimistic research forecasts for each proposal and adopted low forecasts for cannibalisation between the different proposals," it explained.
Broadening out
As well as making money for good causes, the successful bidder had to show that it could manage the transition to the next licence smoothly, a requirement experts believed would favour Camelot.
Besides its other responsibilities, the next National Lottery operator is expected to hit targets for raising funds for the 2012 Olympics.
About £2.2bn is currently earmarked from Lottery funds for the Olympics, with £750m expected to come from specially-designated games.About £2.2bn is currently earmarked from Lottery funds for the Olympics, with £750m expected to come from specially-designated games.
Camelot is also promising to launch the world's first global lottery draw as part of its package of games, which will create up to 100 millionaires every month. Camelot has promised to launch the world's first global lottery draw as part of its package of games, which will create up to 100 millionaires every month.
On Tuesday, Camelot said it would look to introduce "state-of-the-art technology and networks to allow new games to be launched more quickly".
It also said it would roll out a new terminal and digital screen network across more than 27,000 lottery retailers.