What a lotto nonsense!
National Lottery , Issue 1664 MEDIA mogul Richard "Dirty" Desmond's attempt to sue the Gambling Commission over his failed bid to run the National Lottery has descended into chaos after weeks of costly and sometimes aggressive questioning at the high court.

The former owner of esteemed titles such as Asian Babes and the Daily Express, Desmond is claiming his 2021 tender was unfairly rejected. Dirty Des is going for broke after spending a reported £17.5m on his dud effort: he turned down a £10m settlement offer from the Gambling Commission and now has his eyes on an eye- watering damages jackpot of £1.3bn (Eye 1660).

If awarded, such a sum would deplete lottery funds meant for charities and good causes.

Flaw plan
Desmond's legal team has spent seven weeks throwing the kitchen sink at his former competitors and the commission, alleging the tender process was "genuinely flawed" in multiple ways; that the two other competitors, Allwyn and Camelot, should have been disqualified; and that amendments to the contract after he lost mean the competition should have been run again.

At one point, the presiding judge had to rein in Desmond's barristers, asking them to be "less aggressive" after their questioning left a Gambling Commission witness – who required frequent breaks due to an undisclosed illness – visibly shaking.

In the trial's final week, Desmond's legal team then decided to abandon much of its case, including claims that winner Allwyn had breached media protocols and failed to meet "fit and proper" requirements to run the lottery. Other aspects of his case had already been junked ahead of the trial.

As a lawyer for the opposing side put it, the court has now been left in the "astonishing" situation where "almost all allegations have been deleted or downgraded" so everyone involved was essentially "back where we started but after wasting considerable court time".

Mrs Justice Joanna Smith described the situation as "just unacceptable" and said neither she nor the defendants' legal teams understood what Desmond's lawyers were attempting to argue. As a lawyer for Allwyn put it: "The bid was chaotic... [and] the chaos of the bid has continued to permeate the litigation."

Basement dweller
Desmond's proposal had come dead last in the competition, scoring well below its competitors in the commission's evaluation, as well as failing essential criteria around keeping lottery players' funds and interests safe. Under the plan submitted by Desmond's team, players requesting a break from gambling would have continued to receive marketing messages, the high court heard. A similar situation was among the issues that saw Camelot – the lottery's past operator – slapped with a £3.15m fine in 2022.

Desmond is no stranger to financial difficulties in the industry. In the 14 years he has run his rival Health Lottery – which has revenues 1,000 smaller than the National Lottery – he has incurred reported losses of £300m.

His attempt to join the big league was found to have failed on four of seven criteria around financial strength, with lawyers for the Gambling Commission telling the court he appeared to be running his bid on a "shoestring". Desmond's team countered that his company Northern & Shell was in fact "extremely well resourced, with significant funds and assets at its disposal".

Proceedings have now concluded and a judgment is promised "relatively swiftly in the new year". It may well turn out that Dirty Des would have been better off spending his cash on playing the lottery instead of suing it.