IGT is suing the UK Gambling Commission for violating “human rights” in the lottery deal.

When the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) decided to give Allwyn Entertainment control of the UK National Lottery, the current operator, Camelot, refused and threatened to sue. It later gave up its claim. But its technology partner, International Game Technology (IGT), isn’t going to give up the fight.

When Allwyn said in November that it was buying Camelot’s assets, it thought it would be able to stay out of trouble with the law. But a story in The Times shows that the legal challenge adds another layer of trouble.

IGT’s attack seems to be going in a different direction. Even though the Italian company could lose market share because of the change in power, it sees this as a violation of human rights laws.

UKGC, a person who breaks human rights

IGT says in the new challenge that moving from Camelot to Allwyn will hurt its “marketable goodwill” but not its finances. In other words, it will no longer be able to help the community.

After the UKGC made its decision last March, Camelot and IGT tried to stop the gaming regulator from moving forward with the change. The move gave Allwyn, which is a branch of the Czech gaming giant Sazka, a $80 million contract for 10 years.

The next month, Camelot sued the UKGC, which stopped the transfer of the license right away. In June, a judge decided that there was no reason to stop the transfer, so Camelot gave up its lawsuit.

IGT said at the time that it wouldn’t give up the legal battle so quickly. It has now done what it said it would do, but its plan probably won’t work in court.

IGT says the UKGC is breaking Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Human Rights Act of the European Union (EU) (HRA). Article 1 just says that EU members have to protect the “rights and freedoms set out in Section 1” of the ECHR.

You can find a copy of Section 1 here. It talks about the rights of people, not companies. So, it seems like IGT is saying that the UKGC is breaking people’s rights by not letting IGT do charitable work.

If that is the case, the company won’t have much of a legal base. Allwyn’s plan for the National Lottery says that the money it makes must be used to help charities, just like its predecessor.

Unscrupulous Manipulation

IGT’s actions could end up hurting them in a big way. Its attempts to manipulate the system aren’t winning it any friends, and some British lawmakers are already calling it out.

Since it began in 1994, the National Lottery has given more than £46 billion (US$54.7 billion) to good causes. Allwyn will carry on this custom. So, IGT’s attempt to get people to feel sorry for them by saying they violated human rights misses the mark.

Members of parliament, like Sally-Ann Hart and Ben Bradley, have already criticized IGT for trying to save its business in a sneaky way. They say that the move is wrong and point out the obvious mistake.

If the legal challenge is successful, IGT wants the UKGC to pay it £600 million (US$713.52 million) in damages. That money would come from the same fund that helps good causes. IGT says that fund is in danger if the lottery is given to Allwyn.