The UK Gambling Commission has fined National Lottery operator Camelot UK Lotteries £100,000 after it found it to be in breach of its licence.

Lottery ticket

The Commission imposed the financial penalty following the initial miscalculation and subsequent communication and publication of an incorrect National Lottery Lotto jackpot prize amount in October 2013.

After an investigation, the Commission found that Camelot had failed to ensure that its bespoke processes and procedures put in place in respect of this key area for the relaunch of Lotto were fit for purpose.

The incident led to three Lotto jackpot winning ticket holders initially being informed by Camelot that they had won more than in fact they had. The original jackpot broadcast was £6.2m, which was revised down to £4.8m once Camelot had discovered the error. The winners were subsequently told the correct prize amount before any prize money had been transferred/paid out.

According to the Commission, the winners did receive the correct prize amount under the rules of the game.

“While this is an isolated incident, this is a serious matter, as confidence in the accurate calculation of prize monies is a critical part of maintaining public trust in the integrity of the National Lottery,” said the Commission’s chair, Philip Graf. “Camelot has put measures in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again. We will continue to monitor Camelot to ensure it meets the requirements of the licence and that the interests of players are protected.”