Billionaire Seeks $ 252 Million Compensation After Failing to Win Lottery Contract

^{Pictured: Richard Desmond}

Richard Desmond, a British billionaire and media tycoon, is suing the UK Gambling Commission for up to £200 million ($252 million). He claims that the commission made “numerous manifest errors” in picking the winner of the National Lottery contract this year.

The owner of the Northern Shell firm was one of the three contenders for the lucrative lottery deal, along with the British Camelot and the Czech Allwyn.

The commission chose Allwyn, which scored 87.2 points out of 100, while Desmond’s subsidiary, New Lottery Company, came in 3rd, with 57.5 points.

The lawsuit, filed by Desmond’s parent company Northern Shell, alleges that the commission fumbled the scoring and did not give all applicants a fair shake. 

It also accuses the commission of keeping Desmond in the dark about his chances of winning, which would have allowed him to bail out of the bid sooner.

The media mogul is basing his lawsuit on EU laws that still apply in the UK after Brexit. This is ironic, considering that he was a pro-Brexit donor and even gave £1 million to the UK Independence Party (Ukip) before the EU referendum.

The Gambling Commission has dismissed his claims as “fanciful” and said that there were clear criteria for the lottery contract, which his company failed to meet. The regulator said that Desmond lagged behind in terms of the percentage of lottery revenue directed to charity and had a weaker business plan than the other bidders.