Document Dump Blunder Gives Ex-Porn Baron the Edge in £200 Million Lottery Lawsuit

Posted on: May 7, 2025, 01:03h. 

Last updated on: May 7, 2025, 01:32h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • UKGC mistakenly disclosed 4,000+ documents in lottery lawsuit
  • Judge allows most documents despite UKGC privilege objections
  • Desmond claims £200M damages over unfair lottery contract loss

Media mogul Richard Desmond has received a boost in his £200 million (US$267 million) lawsuit against the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) after a court ruled he could use thousands of accidentally disclosed documents as evidence.

Richard Desmond, UK Gambling Commission, National Lottery contract, Allwyn lottery operator, Northern & Shell
Richard Desmond, above, has sued the UK gambling regulator for £200 million over its decision to award the lottery contract to Allwyn. Now, a judge has determined he can use most of the documents that were accidentally gifted to him by the regulator’s lawyers. (Image: The Guardian)

The case stems from the Commission’s decision to award the lucrative National Lottery contract to Czech operator Allwyn, a move Desmond claims was neither fair nor transparent. Desmond’s company, Northern & Shell, was a losing bidder for the lottery concession, one of the UK’s biggest public contracts.

The billionaire founded OK! Magazine and has owned The Daily Express newspaper and the UK’s Channel 5 TV station. Northern & Shell has also published a range of pornographic magazines and owned pornographic television channels.

‘Unprecedented Blunder’

It’s standard legal practice for two opposing parties to exchange relevant information before trial, a process known as pretrial disclosure. But someone at Hogan Lovells, the law firm representing the UKGC, managed to inadvertently dump 4,321 documents containing privileged information onto Desmond’s lawyers.

Judge Nerys Jefford described it as an “unprecedented blunder.”

Northern & Shell sought to amend its complaint to include some of the documents as evidence in the case.

While the UKGC accepted that most of the disclosed documents could be used in the legal proceedings, it sought to exclude a subset of 128 files. These involved key strategic matters such as bid assessments, internal planning for possible litigation, and correspondence with the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport.

On Tuesday, Jefford ruled that certain categories of documents — particularly those explicitly marked as legally privileged or clearly involving legal advice — couldn’t be used, according to The Financial Times. However, she permitted the use of documents that either lacked identifiable legal content or where it was unclear whether a lawyer had authored them.

Jefford was required to determine whether the materials had been shared due to an “obvious mistake” and whether a “competent” lawyer would have recognized the disclosure as erroneous.

Northern & Shell is seeking a judicial declaration that the Gambling Commission acted unlawfully in its handling of the lottery tender, along with £200 million in financial compensation.

Mediation Fails

Northern & Shell turned down a settlement offer from the UKGC in December, which could have been worth as much as £10 million, according to The Guardian.

The Commission was reportedly keen to settle to avoid further delays in transferring control of the National Lottery from former operator Camelot to Allwyn. The ongoing legal proceedings have already hindered the transition, affecting funds generated for charitable and community projects.

The case is set to go to trial in October. The UKGC has cautioned that any financial compensation awarded to Northern & Shell could further diminish the pool of money allocated to these good causes.