Richard Desmond is suing the Gambling Commission
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Richard Desmond is suing the Gambling Commission
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A bid to force billionaire Richard Desmond to pay costs up-front in his legal battle over the National Lottery contract has been turned down by the High Court.
Mr Desmond is suing the Gambling Commission over its handling of the Fourth National Lottery Licence.
The ten year contract was awarded to Czech-owned company Allwyn.
Mr Desmond, whose company Northern & Shell had been one of the bidders for the contract, argues that the regulator’s process was unlawful and unfair.
A court case to decide the issue is scheduled for October.
Ahead of the £1.3billion lawsuit, both the Gambling Commission and Allwyn had asked the High Court for a ‘Security of Costs’ order from Mr Desmond’s side.
This would have required Mr Desmond to provide financial security to cover legal costs should his case fail.
Lawyers for Allwyn have argued that Northern & Shell could face costs of at least £55million if it lost. They said that the Northern & Shell and its subsidiary, the New Lottery Company, “do not have liquid assets of their own to pay their own costs, let alone those of the defendant or the Allwyn parties”.
But at the hearing last month, Sa’ad Hossain KC, representing Northern & Shell, insisted it had ‘sufficient funds” to cover the legal bills.
He questioned why a company such as Northern & Shell “would seek to tarnish its commercial reputation to avoid any adverse cost, which would in any event be such an insignificant proportion” of its assets.
Such a suggestion would be “fanciful”, he told the court. Mr Desmond’s personal fortune is estimated as £1.325billion by the Sunday Times Rich List.
At the High Court today Mrs Justice Joanna Smith denied the application for security for costs for both the Gambling Commission, which Mr Desmond is suing, and Allwyn, listed in court papers as in interested party.
The ruling means the case can proceed without Mr Desmond being ordered to provide financial security ahead of the proceedings.
An Allwyn spokesperson said: “The clear evidence before the court was that the litigants are not able to pay legal costs should they lose. We would like to see a public and unequivocal confirmation that representations made by the litigants to the court confirming the readiness of the wider Northern & Shell group to pay those costs will be honoured and there can be no possibility that good causes are harmed by their failure to pay."
