National lottery Bids
Request
- A snapshot of the scoring of all 4 bidders (Licensee's Proportion of Surplus, Good Causes Contribution, Business Plan, etc.).
- The specific pricing proposal proposed by each of the 4 bidders. A simplified output is fine.
Response
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
In your email you have requested:
- A snapshot of the scoring of all 4 bidders (Licensee's Proportion of Surplus, Good Causes Contribution, Business Plan, etc.).
- The specific pricing proposal proposed by each of the 4 bidders. A simplified output is fine.
In relation to part one of your request, please see the following details for the scoring of the applicants’ business plans:
| Business plan mark (areas) | Allwyn Entertainment Limited | Camelot UK Lotteries Limited | The New Lottery Company Limited | Sisal Spa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transition | 9 | 13 | 6 | 6 |
| Branding | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 |
| Portfolio | 9 | 13 | 9 | 9 |
| Channels | 13 | 15 | 9 | 3 |
| Operation Model & Tech | 13 | 13 | 6 | 7 |
| Total Business Plan Mark (out of 75) | 57 | 67 | 39 | 34 |
Final scores were evaluated based on four areas:
- Propriety, Protecting Participants’ Interests (including protecting Participants’ funds) and Financial Strength (“Pass/Fail” areas)
- Licensee’s Proportion of Surplus
- Good Causes Contribution
- Business Plan.
The final scores for Allwyn and Camelot were 87.18% and 85.67% respectively. Please note, there are no final scores for TNLC and Sisal as they did not pass one or more of the mandatory Pass/Fail areas. For clarity, business plan scores were used to provide feedback to the unsuccessful applicants in their outcome letters.
In relation to your request for scoring relating to Licensee's Proportion of Surplus and Good Causes Contribution, that information comes from Applicants’ projections as set out in their respective applications and is therefore exempt from disclosure and sections 41 (confidentiality) and 43 (commercial interests) of the FOIA are engaged.
In relation to your request for the pricing proposal by each of the applicants, we can confirm that information is held falling within the scope of your request. However, this information is exempt from disclosure and sections 41 (confidentiality) and 43 (commercial interests) of the FOIA are engaged.
Our considerations for engaging these exemptions are detailed below.
Confidentiality – Section 41
Section 41 provides an exemption under the FOIA from the right to know, where the information was provided to the public authority in confidence. Information will be covered by section 41 if:
i. it was obtained by the Commission from any other person (including another public authority),
ii. its disclosure would constitute a breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person.
When deciding if disclosure would constitute a breach of confidence, the Commission has to consider:
i. Whether the information has the quality of confidence.
ii. Whether it was imparted in circumstances imparting an obligation of confidence, and
iii. Whether disclosure would be an unauthorised use of the information to the detriment of the confider.
Section 41 is designed to give those who provide confidential information to public authorities, a degree of assurance that their confidences will continue to be respected, should the information fall within the scope of a FOIA request.
The information requested was provided to the Commission in circumstances imparting an obligation of confidence and has the necessary quality of confidence.
Having considered your request and the information falling within scope of the request, the Commission has concluded that disclosure would constitute a breach of confidence which would be subject to an actionable claim for breach of confidence if this information was disclosed.
The Commission considers that the public interest in disclosing this information is outweighed by the wider public interest in preserving the principle of confidentiality, and the impact that disclosure would have on third-party organisations and our working relationships.
The Commission depends and relies on the free flow of confidential information from operators that it regulates more generally to perform its statutory functions. The Commission’s ability to undertake its statutory functions would be significantly fettered if disclosure occurred. S41 gives those who give confidential information to public authorities a degree of assurance that their confidences will continue to be respected, should the information fall within the scope of a FOIA request.
Therefore, in light of the above, and on balance, some of the requested information will not be disclosed and the S41 exemption is engaged.
Commercial Interests – Section 43
Section 43(2) exempts information whose disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any legal person (an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal entity). A commercial interest relates to a legal person’s ability to participate competitively in a commercial activity.
The information requested was generated through the application process to run the National Lottery. Disclosure of the requested information could impact on the future commercial activity of the applicants as the disclosure could reveal specific information which could be used by competitors in the future for their own advantage.
The Commission therefore feels that the disclosure of this information ‘would be likely to prejudice’ the commercial interests of the applicants, the Commission and the National Lottery itself.
The Commission considers that the public interest in disclosing this information is outweighed by the wider public interest in protecting the commercial interests of the applicants. Our full public interest consideration is set out below.
Public interest test
The factors the Commission has considered when applying the public interest test have been detailed below and our view is that the public interest lies in favour of applying the exemption.
In favour of disclosure
The Gambling Commission is the statutory body responsible for awarding licences to run the National Lottery.
As such, there is a public interest in members of the public having confidence the Commission is being open and honest with the information it holds so that it can be held to account.
It is important that the public are assured that the Commission is carrying out its functions in ensuring that the successful applicant awarded the licence to run the National Lottery, and therefore providing the facility to partake in the National Lottery to the public, have undergone the necessary assessments and will uphold the statutory obligations associated with the National Lottery.
Disclosure of the requested information could demonstrate to stakeholders and relevant parties how the Commission adequately assesses applicants. Furthermore, this disclosure may encourage stakeholders to work with us and contribute to this programme of work, increasing confidence in the Commission as a regulator and its ability to uphold the law.
In favour of maintaining the exemption
The Commission has taken steps throughout the running of the 4th National Lottery competition to publish information ensuring the transparency and accountability of the process. Specific detail of applicant pricing proposals does not contribute to the overall understanding of the National Lottery.
Further to this, disclosure of this information could potentially compromise the integrity of the implementation and security of the new National Lottery licence. The Commission have a statutory duty to maximise returns to good causes.
Consequently, the weaker the competition the greater the risk that we do not meet that statutory duty. Fulfilling your request would be likely to prejudice the ability of the Commission to obtain the best outcome for good causes.
We consider that disclosing the information could discourage applications for any future National Lottery and licensees providing information to the Commission in future, which would likely prejudice the Commission’s ability to monitor and regulate the National Lottery as well as the gambling industry.
Finally, we have considered that there was merit in the representations provided by one of the applicants in relation to this request, who also consider that section 43 of the FOIA is engaged.
Weighing the balance
Whilst the Commission aims to be open and transparent, there is a need to preserve the confidentiality of information submitted on that basis and to be mindful of the commercial sensitivities of information that is held.
Looking at all the circumstances of the case and the nature of the request, there is more than a 50% chance that prejudice would be likely to be caused to one or more of the parties by disclosure. Public knowledge of the details of performance at a highly granular product level is unlikely to contribute to a proper understanding of the performance of the National Lottery and would potentially cause prejudice to applicants, the Commission, and the National Lottery itself.
Review of the decision
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email.
Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.
If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission.
It should be noted that if you wish to raise a complaint with the ICO about the Commission’s handling of your request for information, then you are required to do so within six weeks of receiving your final response or last substantive contact with us.
The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission