Why Lottoland is challenging the UK National Lottery with lotto betting
The UK National Lottery is operated by a commercial company, Camelot, with the funds going towards several goods causes such as education, culture, health, and others.
There is a high degree of social credence in participating in this lottery, and that's what the UK government is intent on protecting through the recent ban on the UK National Lottery lotto betting.
The new law against betting on the UK National Lottery outcomes came into effect in 2018. Operators offering bets on the UK National Lottery and the EuroMillions draws are now in breach of licensing rules.
The DCMS (Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport) in a 2017 impact assessment report decided that betting on the UK National Lottery draws outside the UK contradicts the goals of section 95 of the Gambling Act of 2005.
In this section, betting operators cannot accept bets on the outcomes of the UK National Lottery and the EuroMillions draw.
The DCMS said that the betting operators pose a threat to good cause returns through their instant games. The body, however, admitted that the evidence for that was inconclusive at the time.
Nonetheless, the law came into effect much to the disappointment of many secondary lottery operators, among them Lottoland.
In opposing the move, Lottoland presented evidence on how its operations have helped the UK EuroMillions ticket sales. Nigel Birrell, Lottoland's CEO, said that the decision set a dangerous precedent for legal decisions backed by inconclusive evidence.
The boss said that the decision would stifle further innovation in the sector.
Background information
Lotteries always have a very slim chance of winning. The payout ratio is also low compared to other games of chance. The beauty of the lottery structure is that the gaming mechanism is easy to understand.
There are visual balls in a draw with numbers in an atmosphere of transparency to minimize the risk and concern of fraud. The lottery is restricted to one jurisdiction, and the frequency of the draw is low.
Secondary lotteries change the game. They make it possible to participate in draws across different jurisdictions and allow for more massive jackpots where lotteries are pooled from several regions. The prizes and the proceeds towards the 'good cause' also increase.
Secondary lotteries often operate on a messenger or insurance model. With the messenger model, the operator buys the tickets and resells them by scanning and sending it to players online. This model is less disruptive and is currently the least of worries to UK lawmakers.
The messenger does all the marketing of lottery tickets and acts on behalf of players from other jurisdictions. This model is not a 'betting service.'
The other model that defines the dealings of Lottoland is the insurance model. Consumers bet on the outcome of the lottery draw, and operators use underwriting to facilitate payouts to winnings.
The jackpots are often more significant in this case as they are not based on ticket sales.
Lottoland UK allows users to bet on international lotteries. Draws happen much more regularly than their offline counterparts. When a ticket wins a secondary lottery prize, the operators collect the money from the official operator and remits to the customer's account.
Apart from giving players a chance to win hundreds of millions in several draws, the benefits of secondary lotteries include;
You can play lotteries from all over the world
Through their online platforms and legal jurisdiction appropriation, you qualify to play in any lottery around the globe regardless of where you are.
You can join a well-regulated lottery syndicates to increase your chances of winning.
Lottery syndicates increase your chances of winning. In the process, you save money on ticket purchases by joining with likeminded people online and splitting the costs. When a given ticket wins, you divide the prize money equally as you contributed.
The claim process is simple
A secondary lottery operator like Lottoland reminds players of their results through email. The amount of money, if you have won, gets automatically transferred to your account. That reduces cases of unclaimed winnings. The process of verifying winning numbers is also accurate and efficient.
Bigger jackpots mean that charities get more
By expanding jurisdictional qualification or participation, the amount of funds that go to official lottery operators for worthy causes is increased.
You can participate in many other betting products
As opposed to waiting for lottery draws, Lottoland and other secondary lotteries have enabled betting on draw numbers. Lottoland's World Million’s lottery is an example of such a product with twice-weekly draws
The above reasons are why Lottoland is challenging the UK National Lottery with lotto betting. The operations of a secondary betting company can clearly have positive impacts on a lottery's bigger picture.
Lottoland, through their lawyers, has asked the UK Government to scrap the recent change in law about lotto betting on the UK National Lottery.
