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# Court of Appeal Blocks TNLC Lottery Licence Challenge
- URL: https://www.igamingnews.biz/national-lottery-appeal-tnlc/
- Published: 2026-08-03T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-11T11:34:31.000Z
- Description: The Court of Appeal refused TNLC and Northern & Shell permission to appeal, ending their challenge to the fourth National Lottery licence awarded to Allwyn.
- Author: iGamingNews Editorial Desk
- Tags: Regulation, UK

**The Court of Appeal has refused The New Lottery Company Limited and Northern & Shell PLC permission to appeal, ending their legal challenge to the award of the fourth National Lottery licence.** Lord Justice Coulson dismissed all three grounds on 30 July 2026.

The decision closes off a route that opened after the High Court ruled against the two companies in April 2026\. That earlier judgment dismissed all of TNLC's claims against the Gambling Commission over the competition to award the fourth licence and the later modifications to the agreement with Allwyn UK, the successful bidder now running the National Lottery.

"This is an important decision for the operation of The National Lottery," the Gambling Commission said, adding that it "ran a fair and robust competition."

The ruling matters beyond the parties involved. The fourth-licence contest was one of the most litigated procurement exercises in the sector, and repeated legal challenges had cast a shadow over Allwyn's tenure. A refusal at the Court of Appeal stage removes a significant source of that uncertainty and strengthens the Commission's position on how it ran the process.

No damages figures featured in the decision. For the wider industry, the outcome reinforces a high bar for challenging major licensing competitions once a regulator can show a fair and documented process, a point operators and bidders will weigh in future tenders.