UK Gambling Commission’s ‘Unprecedented Blunder’ in ex-Porn Baron’s £200M Lawsuit

Posted on: March 13, 2025, 03:32h. 

Last updated on: March 13, 2025, 03:32h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • UKGC lawyers mistakenly sent 4,321 privileged documents to the opposition.
  • Richard Desmond claims lottery bidding errors unfairly hurt Northern & Shell.
  • Trial set for October; UKGC warns of lottery funding impacts.

Lawyers for the UK Gambling Commission inadvertently dumped thousands of documents containing privileged information onto a former media and porn baron who is suing it for £200 million.

UKGC, Richard Desmond, Northern & Shell, Hogan Lovells
UK media baron Richard Desmond, above, is suing the UK Gambling Commission, claiming the bidding process for the £80 billion lottery contract was unfair. (Image: Evening Standard)

The “unprecedented blunder” by UKGC lawyers Hogan Lovells happened during pre-trial disclosure. It’s standard legal practice for two opposing parties to hand over relevant information to one another.

But someone at the law firm managed to fire off 4,321 documents containing sensitive information related to the UK’s £80 billion (US$101 billion) UK National Lottery tender to the plaintiff in the case, Northern & Shell.

Northern & Shell is a company owned by Richard Desmond, a British billionaire media tycoon. Desmond founded OK! Magazine and has owned the Daily Express newspaper and the UK’s Channel 5 TV station. He also used to publish Asian Babes magazine and hundreds of similarly niche titles.

Controversial Contract

Northern & Shell sued the gambling regulator after it awarded the lottery contract to Czech lottery giant Sazka, now rebranded as Allwyn.

The lottery is one of the UK’s biggest public sector contracts. Northern & Shell argues that the UKGC’s handling of the bidding process resulted in errors that adversely impacted its score.

The regulator wants the court to order the return of some of the files, but it is currently unclear exactly which documents were disclosed in error. Hogan Lovells has been trying to figure this out since late last year.

Meanwhile, lawyers for Northern & Shell want permission to file an amended complaint that would include some of the documents as evidence in their case.

This is not a case where, in the main, [the documents] have simply gone through a first level review, it has in fact been reviewed by the most senior lawyers in this case,” said Sa’ad Hossain KC, representing Northern & Shell, in a hearing on the matter this week. “The reality is we are entitled to assume the documents have been disclosed to us not by mistake,” he argued.

Tamara Oppenheimer KC, representing the UKGC, told the hearing that all parties are expected to “behave sensibly and honestly.”

“Inadvertent disclosure should not be an opportunity for the receiving party to take advantage,” she added. “It would be unfair and inappropriate if [the plaintiff] were permitted to take advantage of those obvious errors by bolstering its case through the use of the Commission’s privileged documents.”

Mediation Fails

In December last year, Northern & Shell rejected a settlement proposed by the UKGC that was worth up to £10 million, The Guardian reported.

The regulator was eager to settle because protracted litigation has slowed the transition of lottery operations from the previous operator, Camelot, to Allwyn, impacting money raised for good causes.

A trial is scheduled for October. The UKGC has warned that any damages awarded to Northern & Shell as a result of the case would also impact this fund.