Branson accuses Camelot of undermining lottery regulator

The lottery operator Camelot has been accused by Sir Richard Branson of using dirty tricks and bullying to undermine the credibility of the lottery regulator.

The lottery operator Camelot has been accused by Sir Richard Branson of using dirty tricks and bullying to undermine the credibility of the lottery regulator.

Sir Richard accused Camelot, his rival for the next lottery licence, of "trying to use threatening and desperate tactics" with the National Lottery Commission because it knew that his bid for the next lottery licence offered more money for good causes.

In a statement released last night, Sir Richard signalled an end to the unofficial truce between the two bidders by claiming Camelot was becoming increasing desperate about its chances despite winning a High Court action against the commission 12 days ago. He said Camelot's recent attacks on the credibility of the National Lottery Commission seemed to undermine the company's promises to the High Court to act in good faith to ensure the next licence began smoothly.

Last month, Mr Justice Richards quashed the commission's decision to hold exclusive talks on the next licence with Sir Richard's People's Lottery organisation as it was "conspicuously unfair" to Camelot. He ordered the commission to give Camelot an extra month to improve its bid.

Sir Richard's criticisms were echoed last night by Simon Burridge, chief executive of the People's Lottery, whoclaimed Camelot was putting its own commercial interests ahead of the interests of good causes in its dispute with the commission.

He said Camelot's renewed complaints about the commission's conduct suggested it would mount further legal actions if the regulator again chose the People's Lottery. If these threats delayed a final decision on the next licence until after November, it was highly unlikely the People's Lottery would be able to install and test all its terminals and games in time for the new licence date, 1 October 2001, damaging public public confidence and leaving the operator open to fines from the commission.

A Camelot spokesman retorted: "I would like to remind Mr Burridge it was only a few days ago that the High Court found Camelot had been misled and treated with conspicuous unfairness by the commission. Any delay lies in the failure of the commissioners to do their duty, namely to preside over a fair and unbiased bidding process. We have always maintained that fair competition is the best way of securing the best deal for the good causes."